The Request:

How can anyone properly immortalize words they live by. Say them once, write them down, and tuck them away only to revisit them once a year? OR, do as this Irish born Canadian husband decided to do – create a manuscript to honor their heritage, hands-fasting ceremony, and the sacredness of the vows they’d reaffirmed on that fateful October day.

The Direction:

The patron had his ideas and direction, embodying more historical knowledge than most regarding motif’s from the Anglo-Celtic Isles, i.e. Celtic art! His direction was simple – follow antiqued manuscripts for inspiration in design and appearance. So, I drew on three of the most celebrated works from that period – The Book of Durrow, The Book of Kells, and the Lindisfarne Gospels. The patron also shared with me his hand fasting ceremony story and how it’s location was fated by the overhead flight-path of two random swans.

The Design:

I felt the nature of this piece needed to honor as much as possible the traditional Celtic manuscripts with not only motif’s but letterforms as well. So, each character was rendered in hands found within the three manuscripts. The illuminated ‘Y’ caps depicted both male and female heads of the couple, intertwining the males arms in knotted hearts, and around the female terminating into folded hands. Swan heads crowned the foot of the piece with each hand fasting ribbon held in their beaks and knotting together into hearts. Swan wings frame the text on either side with intricate boarder knotwork which nested gold rings throughout. Margin notes were added thereafter detailing the dates and locations of the couples ceremonies.