Making Art with an Axe
As we have just passed through the season of Theophany, I have been brought to ponder what Theophany means for art, especially liturgical art. The icon of Theophany offers much to reflect upon as we gaze at the elements it brings together. Just as in our lives and in the world, in the making of Christian…
Continue reading »Encountering God – Climacus Conference 2017
The Climacus Conference is a classical Christian intellectual/spiritual event featuring scholars and voices across the fields of Theology, Philosophy, Classical Education, Literature, and History/Politics. It is unique in that it provides an opportunity for attendees to be enriched by thinking well across disciplines. In 2015, OAJ founder Andrew Gould participated at the Climacus conference and gave…
Continue reading »An Innovative Carved Icon of Archangel Gabriel – A Collaborative Work
Occasionally Jonathan Pageau and I like to experiment with our work – to skirt the boundaries of historical precedent, to revive forgotten and archaic techniques, or to juxtapose ideas in new ways. This project, an elaborate mixed-media icon of Archangel Gabriel, is such an instance. It was not a commissioned project, but rather something we…
Continue reading »Hand and Machine: Making Liturgical Furnishings
Principles for the Design and Making of Liturgical Furnishings Aidan Hart Handing over from hand to machine A tool in the hand of a craftsperson is an extension of their body, mind and soul. He or she feels the resistance of the stone or wood. Through the tool the material speaks back to them, and…
Continue reading »Fr. Ivan Moody at SVOTS
As part of their Sacred Arts Initiative, St-Vladimir Seminary is organizing an event with our own Father Ivan Moody. The event is titled Past, Present and Future of Orthodox Music , and some of the tone and content can be already gleaned from the interview that was done with fr. Ivan by Dr. Peter Bouteneff…
Continue reading »Materiality Refined: The Carvings of Andrei Raileanu
Andre Raileanu is a young Romanian icon carver I have been keeping my eye on for a while now. We have already written a few articles on the amazing things happening in Romania ( here, here and here) but Raileanu’s exploration of stone carving stands very much on its own as both an exception and…
Continue reading »Interview With Nikola Sarić
Tell us a bit about your formative years; how you became interested in art and icon painting in particular. I grew up next to a talented father, so watching him painting was the first step towards art. When I was a child I was reading my father’s art books and I can still remember how…
Continue reading »The Sacred Arts Initiative “Rethinking Sacred Arts”
The Sacred Arts Initiative “Rethinking Sacred Arts” A Review Although the task of OAJ has mainly been to work towards the promotion of the revival of traditional Orthodox liturgical arts, along the way we have not hesitated to engage the sphere of secular art. This has not only been relegated to a critique of its…
Continue reading »Judge and Victim : The Two Images of Christ
There are two basic images of Christ in the Church, each marking one of the two poles which hold the very limits of the cosmos. The first image is that of the Pantocrator and its derivatives, essentially Christ shown in the guise of a glorious emperor, both the origin and the final judge of the…
Continue reading »A Grave Cross for Father Matthew Baker
When Jonathan Pageau and I were asked to make a grave cross for the late Fr. Matthew Baker, we were humbled by the task. Fr. Matthew was a beloved young priest, a prominent Orthodox thinker, and father of six children. His tragic death in an automobile accident on March 1st, 2015, on his way home…
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