Nancy Leavitt

Stillwater, Maine

Stoney Psalms

Gouache on handmade muslin paper by MacGregor and Vinzani. Sewn on vellum strips in a limp vellum binding of gray dyed goat skin. Cover decorated with woven vellum cross. Stoney Psalms contains poetry and rock illustrations by the artist describing a journey to Iona, Scotland, site of St. Columba’s early monastery. Each of the four poems dissolves and reforms, migrating with the changing stone pattern. 30 x 21 x 2 centimeters. Created 1999. Lent by Earl M. Collier, Jr.


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.