No pages left

As of May 5, 2013, there are no pages left, only two verses which will be written in public on May 11 at The Last Word event at St. Peter's Presbyterian Church in Spencertown.

Cooking

From a phone conversation this morning:
"I'm all finished except for the last two verses. I need to cook to clear my head. Baking brownies now and bread tomorrow."

Writing paused

Starting tomorrow Phillip will pause writing in order to finish at The Last Word event on May 11.

We're making a movie!

Yesterday, we began working with Justin Lange, a documentary filmmaker who grew up in Columbia County and now lives and works in New York. We'll debut his short film about our project at The Last Word event on May 11. In this picture Phillip is explaining why he works from two different copies of the bible. In the far right of the picture you can see some of the bound and unbound pages of the handwritten bible. The quilt on the bed is handmade by Phillip.

Saving the last word for May 11

Family, friends, and the public will join Phillip as he writes the last words of his handwritten bible in a historic Columbia County church. A gallery of photos documenting the process will be on display.

Before the writing there will be a brief program featuring a discussion about the project and our collaboration, music, and a question and answer session. A gallery of photos from the project will be on display as well as the premiere of a short documentary on the project.

A reception will follow with a small pop-up shop selling a selection of photos, hand written bible verses, and other special items.

The public is invited and encouraged to attend. A suggested donation of $15 will benefit the Friends of St. Peter's Presbyterian Church and the completion of the binding of the finished volumes of the handwritten bible.

WHEN: Saturday, May 11, 6pm
WHERE: St. Peter's Presbyterian Church, 5219 County Route 7, Spencertown, NY 12165

What's left

On the left is what's left to do and on the right, all that has been done, as of April 14, 2013.

Pockets of the "blizzard book"

An even closer look at a "blizzard book". No tape, glue, staples or stitches...just folds from discarded pages of the handwritten bible.

Lining the pages

"Tonight I'm going to be drawing lines. I got all of the other work out of the way." PP

Personal scrapbook

A personal scrapbook made out of discarded pages from the handwritten bible. (It's actually called a "blizzard book" and it's completely made out of folded paper without sewing or adhesive, just folding single sheets of paper to create little pockets. Phillip found out about it from The Penland Book of Handmade Books, a book that is very important to this project: it inspired him to teach himself how to do bookbinding so that he could bind the volumes of the handwritten bible himself.)

There are many discarded pages which means there are many of these little books! Phillip uses this one to keep our project related ephemera and correspondence in one special place.

Hat ritual

After church the hat gets returned to its hook on the wall.

Mid-work reminder

From earlier this week, a mid-work reminder that the WNYT film crew would be arriving soon. Read the segment here.

What has been done so far

With this much completed, Phillip is working on Corinthians.

Working on Corinthians

Working on Corinthians for a little bit before the WNYT news crew arrived this morning.

We were on tv!

This morning WNYT Channel 13 visited us in Philmont while Phillip worked on Corinthians. The story may air tonight! aired tonight during the 5:00pm broadcast. You can watch read the whole thing right here.

Ending volume seven (beginning Epistles)

An update via a little conversation via texting.

This is how much is left

The writings of John.

Exhibit at Siena College

Our project is part of a group exhibit called Focus on Four at the Yates Gallery at Siena College. (It's a pretty sweet gallery on the second floor of the library.)

Breakfast before work

Breakfast before beginning work on one of the indexes of the Old Testament.

How Much is Left ("I feel like I'm really getting to the end.")

A short video from a brief visit to Phillip last week on April 22, 2012. After we talked for awhile in the living room he asked me to come into the work room, saying "I want to show you where I am."

Finishing page 1793 of the handwritten bible

Working on the Book of Ecclesiasticus on page 1793 of the handwritten bible.