Nancy Leavitt

Stillwater, Maine

Outside the Realm of Time

Like music, sometimes a text does not have to be understood to be enjoyed, for literature can be as magical as music. My goal was to sing these texts with my hands. The text for Out of the Realm of Time is taken from lyrics of 18th-century Italian arias composed by Caldara, Handel, and Scarlatti. The book is written and painted in gouache on handmade paper by Katie MacGregor, Whiting, Maine. Joelle Leavitt Webber, Mermaid Bindery, Westport, Maine completed the wooden binding and box containing stones. Glass artist, Alison Thibault, Bucksport, Maine created the glass stones. 33.5 x 23 x 4 centimeters. Created 2006.

---

Nancy Ruth Leavitt, born in 1953, is a calligrapher specializing in hand-lettered manuscript books. Her work is represented in many prestigious private and public collections. As Calligraphy Correspondent for the Guild of Book Workers, she writes about lettering and book arts for the Newsletter. She has received several artist grants from the Maine Arts Commission for her research into the history of her craft, and in 2002 she received the Stephen Harvard Award for book design.