Every great piece of art needs a showrunner. This is one of the most multifaceted, technically and artistically challenging jobs in the world. For every logistical detail executed flawlessly, there are infinite artistic inclinations that brought that detail to life with the utmost precision. It takes exacting material finesse and inimitable creative instinct in equal measure to succeed in this position.
For The Saint John’s Bible, this person is Sarah Harris-Richards.
“Sarah has an instinct for materials,” said Donald Jackson, artistic director of The Saint John’s Bible. “You really need to look after many of our materials like babies. They are alive. The vellum, for example, expands and contracts with the changing humidity and heat. You can’t learn the skills and instincts she has by reading a book. She is also very conscientious and careful. We dread the day when she finally decides to become a member of parliament.”
Harris’ official title is studio manager for Donald Jackson’s Scriptorium in Wales, United Kingdom. She first joined the Scriptorium as a 22-year-old in 2002 after her mother showed her an opening in the local newspaper for a studio assistant.
According to Jackson, the job description was “anything and everything.” Still, he remembers that it felt serendipitously obvious that Harris was the right person for the job.
“When I came into my interview, the Life of Paul illumination was on Donald’s desk, which is the last illumination in Gospels and Acts. I remember being really overwhelmed by it all actually because it was just so incredible. The thought of being part of it all was a bit terrifying,” said Harris. “Now, it makes me tearful. Donald and Mabel have become second parents to me. I’m really proud to be part of something like this. I love every part of it. It’s been a complete honor.”
In the more than 20 years since that first interview, Harris has had innumerable responsibilities at the Scriptorium. She acted as the main caretaker and organizer of vellum for The Saint John’s Bible, allocated pages to each scribe, and even contributed her own illustrations to the work. (If you are interested in a brief scavenger hunt, try to find Harris’ three butterflies in the Wisdom Books volume. One is a tortoiseshell, one is yellow, and one is blue. She also illustrated the pulley system that leads a bumblebee to a mistake in the work.)
Much before quill met ink, Harris traveled with calligrapher and illuminator Sally Mae Joseph to the parchment makers to hand-choose the vellum skins that became the pages of The Saint John’s Bible. Once the vellum pages arrived at the Scriptorium, Harris trimmed them down, prepared them, ruled them up, then assigned each individual page to the artists.
“I felt that the pages were my possession. They are a living object and I knew them so intimately. I felt incredibly attached to them,” said Harris. “I know it sounds strange, but I would miss them when I sent them away from the Scriptorium.”
When it became time to start work on the Heritage Editions, high-quality facsimiles of The Saint John’s Bible, Harris was tasked with advocating for Jackson’s artistic vision if he couldn’t appear in person. Equipped with thorough instructions from Jackson, Harris was able to travel to Minnesota without Jackson, analyze every single new page, and offer revisions or even an official sign-off in his place. John Parfitt, the United Kingdom printing consultant for the project, accompanied her in this task. This work was incredibly hands-on. For example, in the Heritage Edition’s Nativity illumination and four other illuminations, it was Harris’ skilled hand that sanded down the gold light to give the piece texture and dimension.
“There’s a life to the original pages and it was my job to capture that spirit for the Heritage Edition. Sarah is very much understanding of that ethos,” said Jackson. “Once we’d made decisions in relation to the interpretation of the gold foil, we developed a process whereby we printed a color behind the gold, stamped the gold on it, and then sandpapered the surface, or rubbed it or abraded it, so that the color would then show through the gold, which was more like it was in the original. That meant, in the end, Sarah, was out there in the frozen north of Minnesota in a rented house — she was there for weeks after weeks, going through all those volumes. She brought the color through the gold and texturized the gold to ensure authenticity and artistry. She was integral to imbuing the Heritage Editions with life and character.”
Lit From Within
Among her other talents and duties, Harris was a diplomat. She and Jackson remember one instance in which they were working with a wonderful book binder who sometimes felt overwhelmed by the pressures of the job. According to Jackson, during times of overwhelm, Harris is the only one he would talk to.
Looking back to the very beginning of the project, Harris remembers organizing the scribes’ copy sheets and vellum pages and noticing something strange. There seemed to be a continuity issue in the text. Those experienced in art and publishing know that everything must be organized perfectly in order for the text to read accurately. Harris and Jackson mulled over the pages together until the realization hit them: this was the wrong translation of the Bible. (The Saint John’s Bible uses the New Revised Standard Version translation for its modern and ecumenical nature.) Catching this early mistake saved the team countless hours of re-illustration and many materials. This was during her first year on the job.
“That was an instance where somebody with a fresh eye, a brain, and a strong eye for visuals walked in from day one and became a great help to the project,” said Jackson.
Harris’ tact and drive once again saved the day during an exhibit of the original manuscript in Alabama. At that time, the Heritage Edition Psalms volume was being crafted while the original pages were on display in Alabama. To stay on schedule, the facsimile team in Minnesota needed to proof the Heritage Edition pages against the original pages. So, Harris and others flew all the way to Alabama to look at the original pages to ensure the facsimile’s fidelity to the original.
Life Before the Scriptorium: An Artist from Birth
Harris’ passion for art and illustration has lived within her from an early age. Some of her earliest memories are of her with a pencil in hand.
“Ever since I was old enough to hold a pencil, I’ve loved drawing,” said Harris. “I would copy cartoons and my dad and I would go off sketching together often.”
“My brain works in pictures rather than words, and I love it,” said Harris. “Even thinking back to books I read as a child, it’s the pictures I remember, not the words, that’s how I learn. I would always draw diagrams to remember concepts in school.”
Harris studied Art, Design and Media, specializing in Illustration at the University of Portsmouth in Portsmouth, England. After graduation, she came home to live with her parents and work in a hotel that she had always worked in during her summer holidays.
“After I came home from work crying way too many times, my mom said, ‘No way, you’re not doing this anymore,’” said Harris. “That is when she saw the advert for a position at the Scriptorium.”
Though Harris cannot choose one single illumination that she favors over the rest, she does feel inexplicably enamored with the The New Temple illumination in the Prophets volume.
“Working daily in the studio, I was in a very privileged position to see the majority of these works of art being created from the beginning of the sketch process to the finishing touches of the completed illumination on vellum,” said Harris. “The New Temple involved a lot of heart-in-mouth moments and it was particularly wonderful to see this illumination happen before my eyes. But really it’s so hard to choose after watching six of the seven volumes come alive from start to finish.”
She also feels a special kinship with the Historical Books because its development spanned the entirety of her time at the Scriptorium. She is also in love with the pages that feature no illuminations — only script.
When she’s not in the Scriptorium, Harris is a gifted botanist. She nourishes her personal garden and those of her neighbors. She has no favorites or preferences of flowers, except that she particularly enjoys those flowers that attract bees. She lives with her husband and two cats in the Welsh valleys and still works with Donald and Mabel Jackson on a weekly basis.
According to Jackson, the only downside of having Harris on the team is the quantity of times the Scriptorium has had to replace the locks on its doors. Always careful, Harris always pulls doors three or more times to be absolutely sure they are locked.
The Women of The Saint John’s Bible
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