During her lifetime, Jette Užāne learned many things on her own. Jette’s interest in the world encouraged her to write and create independently, without seeking external validation. As a result, two defining qualities were seen through her work: a freedom and naïveté of a form; and a very solid and unyielding worldview.

In designing “The Living Glove,” we sought to indirectly integrate both of these qualities – Jette’s joy of life, her love for nature, as well as her inner strength and perseverance.

The book is structured into five chapters that thematically bring together the most significant part of Jette Užāne’s creative work. It offers the reader an opportunity not only to view the mittens, but also to delve into their narratives and philosophy that inspired their creation. The content interweaves essays by curator Elīna Apsīte, documentary photography, and entries from Jette’s own diary (1940-1964), revealing her worldview from multiple perspectives.

The central element of the book cover is a tactile emboss reproduction of Jette Užāne’s knitted mittens. As Jette said, “drawing with white on white,” showing that the material itself is a self-sufficient tool that allows the texture of a knitted mitten to be communicated more physically and directly than a photographic reproduction could. So the mittens on the cover of the book were “drawn” using only light and shadow.

The design incorporates a unique typeface created on the basis of handwriting from Jette’s diary. It not only visually binds the book and the exhibition (“The Living Glove”, Cēsis Museum, 2024) into a single narrative, but also serves as a logical continuation of the spatial experience, using similar graphic techniques to tell the story of Jette.