Posts Tagged ‘Icon’
Carved Wedding Crowns
I recently had the chance to make some wooden crowns for a seminarian planning his wedding. I had occasionally seen wooden crowns in recent Orthodox weddings and so I knew it was not completely an innovation. In discussion with the patron we decided on a tiara form, which would include a miniature stone icon and…
Continue reading »The Falling Asleep of Ksenia Pokrovsky
News that Ksenia Mikhailovna Pokrovskaya had fallen asleep in the Lord on Sunday, July 7, 2013 was a profound shock. Though she had chronic hypertension, she had not been ill. She was tired, yes, for many years, but still actively sharing her wisdom and knowledge with clarity and generosity. For both her family and friends…
Continue reading »Understanding The Dog-Headed Icon of St-Christopher
This is post 1 of 2 in the series “The Dog Headed Icon of St-Christopher” Jonathan Pageau traces the pattern of meaning in Dog-headed representations of St-Christopher and how they relate to our experience of the world. Understanding The Dog-Headed Icon of St-Christopher The Dog-Headed Icon of St-Christopher (pt.2): Encountering Saint-Christopher This post is…
Continue reading »New Mosaic of Christ Pantocrator in Cardiff, Wales
Having studied mosaics all over the world for many years I was delighted to receive a commission last year to create a mosaic for a church in Wales. I completed the illustrated mosaic of Christ Pantocrator in March this year. It is sited on the exterior wall of St Martin’s Church of Wales in Roath,…
Continue reading »Ethiopian Carving
Since the post I wrote on Ethiopian art has attracted many comments, I thought I would share a few thoughts on Ethiopian carving. I had seen images of Ethiopian carving before my trip there and was looking forward to finding where they came from. It is in the city of Axum, where the fabled Ark of…
Continue reading »Russian Master Icon Carvers
Rashid and Inessa Azbuhanov are a Russian couple who are leading the rediscovery of icon carving in the Russian Church. Their works grace the collections of Russian politicians from Gorbachev to Putin, European royal families and church authorities from the Russian Patriarch to the Pope of Rome. Their works are often large and highly detailed, like wooden lace as…
Continue reading »Miniature Icons by Evgeny Baranov
Here are some of the most astounding miniature icons I have seen. They are made by a Russian artisan named Evgeny Baranov who is also a very good goldsmith as you will see below. These pictures were taken from his facebook page. I have been trying to get a short interview with some more details, and…
Continue reading »Icons from Shells
Here is a surprising video from a Georgian news website of an Archpriest who uses seashells to create decorative images but also icons. His images are quite “folk” in appearance and composition and the iconography is obviously rather simple as the shells prevent too much detail. This priest seems quite comfortable as he is shown…
Continue reading »Degraded Iconicity III: Mysteriological Matter; As Above, So Below
This is post 3 of 6 in the series “Degraded Iconicity” Fr. Silouan Justiniano thinks through the effect of contemporary image culture and mechanical reproduction on iconography and our sense of the sacred. The Degraded Iconicity of the Icon: The Icon’s Materiality and Mechanical Reproduction Degraded Iconicity II: Uplifting Materiality and Symbol. Degraded Iconicity III:…
Continue reading »Letter To an Iconographer on The Ancient of Days
Sometime ago, a friend sent me an image of the Ancient of Days that is being painted in a Greek Orthodox parish in Montréal, Québec, Canada. He wanted to know what I thought of it. The first image was not yet finished and the seond one is finished. I wrote him back the following comments. …
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