Since 1985 I have worked as an epigraphic artist for the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute/Epigraphic Survey in Luxor, Egypt. “Chicago House” began in 1924 and is committed to both conserving and documenting the ancient monuments under its concession.

The drawing process begins at the temple wall, penciling over the hieroglyphs and figures on a large-format black and white photograph of the scene. The pencil lines are inked with technical pens either in my studio in Luxor or my studio in Vermont. The completed photo/drawing is bleached, (leaving the ink drawing on the white photo paper), then blueprinted, checked and double-checked by Egyptologists. Changes can be made to the lines by trimming away ink with a scalpel blade. In essence, by copying the essential and eliminating the unnecessary, I create a drawn facsimile of the scene.

Publications with translations of the work are made for documentation and research purposes.

www.oi.uchicago.edu/research/projects/epi/