| Title | If It Be Dark |
| Artist / Creator | Jan Owen |
| Artist's Nationality | United States |
| Place of Publication | Belfast ME |
| Publication Date | 2024 |
| Author of Text | Rabbi Abulafia, Dickens, Rilke, Tagliabue, Dickinson, Merton, Milton, Hopkins, Vaughn, Psalms, Joubet, Frost, Whitman, Stevenson, Paz, Chomei |
| Process / Technique | Hand lettered |
| Structure / Binding | Accordion fold |
| Medium / Materials | Sumi ink, acrylic, polyester, Tyvek, linen thread, binders board |
| Paper Stock | MacGregor handmade paper, Stonehenge |
| Number of Pages | 24 |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 7 x 11 x 1 inches. Opens to 15.5 inches. |
| Edition Size | Unique artist book |
| Box / Wrapper | Paper wrapper |
| Signed & Numbered | Signed by the Artist (Unique) |
If It Be Dark by Jan Owen
$900.00
The election year was a dark time and I began writing on leftover black painted pages.
No guidelines, no planning, the ritual of just writing words like praying in the dark. I began with words byRabbi Abulafia, “If it be dark, kindle many lights, then take ink and pen to thy hand…” This was followed by Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” I wrote slowly with different pens and tools, kept on with 2 more signatures. Pages grew, woven elements added, a brush mark. The election is over, the pages done and sewn into an accordion fold book.
Artist Bio
Jan Owen is a calligraphic artist in Belfast, Maine. Her unique, hand lettered artist books contain lots of words. Born in NYC, she moved to Maine after college working as a printmaker and graphic designer. With the birth of twin daughters, she started teaching herself calligraphy and went on to study and then teach lettering and book arts. Her artist book, Requiem, was a finalist in the Books that Matter prize at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Her book Wonder, was awarded Honorable Mention for the Stephen Harvard Book Prize by the Maine Baxter Society. She was twice awarded Maine Artist Fellowships. Owen’s work is in the National Museum of Women in the Arts; Washington, DC; Jack Ginsburg Centre for Book Arts, South Africa; The Walker Library of the History of Human Imagination, CT; Portland Museum of Art, ME; Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, WA; Library of Congress and in many private collections and library Special Collections. For many years her other interest was playing string bass with orchestras wherever she was living. The connection of practicing the bass and calligraphy are close and lead to the performance and the blank page.