Before touring the Art Gallery, you might be interested to know...
Currently there are three rooms in the Gallery: the "Lost Prophet" exhibit, the "Poem Excavated from Jerusalem" exhibit, and the illustrations for an edition of the Pilgrimmage to Mecca story.
The images in the "Lost Prophet" exhibit are reproduced from my first illuminated book. The poem itself was written in 1976, and as such, is the earliest example of my writing on this web site. The paper for this small manuscript was purchased in Istanbul in 1977, and was estimated by Sam Kleinman to be 100 to 150 years old (back in 1977). Mr. Kleinman (I *never* called him "Sam"), was a much honored and vastly knowledgeable antiquarian book dealer (may his memory be a blessing). He also speculated that it might be of Persian provenance. The paper is still in wonderful condition. I calligraphed the book using India ink, and illustrated it with acrylic colors and bronze ink. The binding is made of laminated cedar veneer, sealed with polyurethane, and the title on it is done in gold leaf.
When my family and I moved to Victoria, BC in 1989, my first friendship was with a writer and printer, Robie Liscomb. Robie and I decided to make a little chapbook of a poem I wrote in Jerusalem in 1983. The poem itself was a one-off technical experiment. (I don’t know why I never played with this idea again.) First of all you’ll notice there's 2 alternate title pages. One is a woodcut I made; you'll recognize it as the opening gateway to Shivvetee. The other is a woodcut of a map of Jerusalem that Robie found in a very old book, and modified for this project. Then there's a dedication page, followed by 2 side by side pages of poetry. The side by side format is critical. On the left side of the double page is the "excavation" in totally broken English. On the opposing side is the "modern reconstruction." The idea is to emulate the architectural history of Jerusalem while describing scenes that I hope can be seen as either modern or ancient. You’ll see what I’m talking about when you visit the exhibit. Don’t pass up the last page, which is the "Printer’s Note." It tells some essentials about the printing process and materials. What it doesn’t mention is that Robie was an absolute wizard in both his art and craft.
In the "Pilgrimmage" exhibit you’ll find my pencil sketches for an edition of the story, A Pilgrimmage to Mecca. You can read that story in the Reading Room in a version in which I have integrated some of these sketches. Here’s the whole set of them, 6 in all, directly out of my notebooks. I drew them as triptychs (groups of 3), and that’s how Steven Toleikis, my web guru, has hung them in the Gallery.
