Throughout the creation process, artist Dana Tanamachi, along with a small team of researchers, pored over the biblical text, gathering themes, motifs, symbols, and imagery to use as a foundation for the artwork. Dana worked to incorporate these elements with the text in a way that honors the historical environment, context, and themes of each book. For example, she incorporated an illustration of a hyssop plant—the very branch on which Jesus was offered a drink while he was nailed to the cross—into the book opener for the Gospel of John.
The artwork was also inspired by late 19th- and early 20th-century design, typography, and motifs of the Arts and Crafts movement and the art nouveau period, visible in the curved and winding floral elements found throughout the edition. The artist drew further inspiration from Victorian typography, American woodtype posters, and Ukiyo-e woodblock prints.
Under Dana’s direction, a small team of expert lettering artists incorporated these styles into the verse illustrations in the margins and in thoughtful ornamentation throughout the text. Full-page illustrations feature longer passages, giving readers a chance to linger on particular passages of Scripture.
The verses are meant to act as ebenezers—landmarks of God’s faithfulness to creation, reminders of his salvific plan, and signposts to his abiding commitment to display his glory in all the earth.
About the Artist
Dana Tanamachi
Dana Tanamachi is an American lettering artist, graphic designer, and illustrator whose exquisite typographic murals ignited the worldwide chalk-lettering trend. She has been commissioned by clients such as Instagram, Target, Google, Time magazine, Nike, and West Elm. Learn more at tanamachistudio.com.
