It’s coming on…!
The contemporary book of hours and pilgrims Seasons of Life is almost finished. All contributions have been put in and in their place. Another round of corrections and picking out the right paper. Then press and bind. It seems so simple.
It is often the holidays in which beautiful plans arise. So too, more than two years ago, the idea of publishing a contemporary book of hours and pilgrims. Something is growing in my head that I would like to realize. But that doesn’t mean there’s an approach that I can use to move forward. A time of deepening follows: a lot of reading, visiting museums and consulting experts. And then comes the moment when the decision has to be made. Will the idea go in the trash or will I go for it 100%. After consulting with my partner Sytske Zwart, I chose the latter. There is no certainty at all and we know from experience that things never go exactly as planned. There are always bumps and collisions. We have been doing this work for years and now know that such an abrasive and sometimes clashing process with constructive people leads to something beautiful. Maybe that’s why.
In the case of a Book of Hours – see, for example, the Books of Hours of the Brothers of Limburg – in addition to inspiring texts and beautiful miniatures, design and leaf decoration are also very important. The design of Seasons of Life is in the hands of Anne Louman and Petra van Bloemendaal of Louman & Friso design agency. They were faced with the difficult task of creating a contemporary design for a book that will undoubtedly be compared to the museum books of hours of the past.
Every page has been thought through. Not only about font, size and thickness and the page layout, but also about the ‘ears’, personalized logos for the writers, leaf decorations for summer, autumn, winter and spring and so on. They have pulled out all the stops to make it a beautiful book. Thanks!
In the picture the pages 120 and 121 designed by Petra van Bloemendaal. It would also make the medieval man happy!
The presentation of the book will take place on 21 June 2015 in the Stevenskerk in Nijmegen at the same time as the start of the Walk of Wisdom.
