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Orthodox Arts Journal — Articles and news for the promotion of traditional Orthodox Christian liturgical arts

— Articles and news for the promotion of traditional Orthodox Christian liturgical arts —

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An Innovative Carved Icon of Archangel Gabriel – A Collaborative Work

By Andrew Gould on January 26, 2017
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 […]

Posted in Iconography, Minor Arts | Tagged Andrew Gould, archangel, basma, Byzantine, carved, Carving, gabriel, Icon, Jonathan Pageau, opus sectile, Orthodox, russian, steatite January 26, 2017

A Carved and Inlaid Cross, a Collaborative Work

By Andrew Gould on January 19, 2016
A Carved and Inlaid Cross, a Collaborative Work

I have recently completed a small but highly interesting project, two years in the making, and involving several master artisans. It is a wooden cross with carved stone icons, crafted like a jewel, wholly traditional, and yet quite unlike anything seen before. This is one of those projects that grew, perhaps providentially, from an initially […]

Posted in Iconography, Minor Arts | Tagged Andrew Gould, Byzantine, Carving, iconographic, inlay, Jonathan Pageau, marquetry, steatite, woodwork January 19, 2016

An Inlaid Gospel Cover

By Andrew Gould on September 10, 2014
An Inlaid Gospel Cover

  The idea for this gospel cover began several years ago. I discussed with Jonathan Pageau the possibility of  using his stone carvings as inlaid icons in wooden liturgical pieces. He is able to carve the steatite stone slabs quite thin so that the weight is reasonable even for a book cover. I based the […]

Posted in Iconography, Minor Arts | Tagged athonite, athos, binding, book, Byzantine, Carving, clasp, Coptic, gospel cover, greek, Icon, inlaid, inlay, liturgical gospel, marquetry, Orthodox, parquetry, steatite, treasure binding September 10, 2014

Steatite Icons and Material Symbolism

By Jonathan Pageau on April 28, 2014
Steatite Icons and Material Symbolism

One of the points many OAJ contributors have been trying to bring across is that the medium out of which sacred art is made and the artful human act of fabrication are important on a symbolic and theological level.  This question of materiality and production have become crucial ones in our age of mechanical reproduction […]

Posted in Iconography, Minor Arts, Theory | Tagged Carving, Icons, Jonathan Pageau, Kalavrezou, steatite, stone, Symbolism, theotokos, Virgin August 18, 2015

A Contemporary Opus Sectile Icon

By Jonathan Pageau on February 19, 2014
A Contemporary Opus Sectile Icon

Last year, I promised our readers that I would try to create an opus sectile icon, that is an icon that joins different stones together to make an image.  I recently had the chance to create something that is a mix of carving and mosaic and is probably as close as I am going to […]

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged archangel, Icon, Jonathan Pageau, mosaic, opus sectile, Orthodox, st-michael, steatite July 3, 2014

6 Days of Icon Carving

By Jonathan Pageau on November 5, 2013
6 Days of Icon Carving

Last month I had the opportunity to give my first icon carving training for Hexaemeron.  Hexaemeron is a travelling liturgical arts school based on the work and method of Ksenia Pokrovsky of recent memory.  It was an honor to join the Hexaemeron team and to have a chance of working with a very dedicated group of […]

Posted in Iconography, News | Tagged carved, Carving, Hexaemeron, Icon, iconography, Jonathan Pageau, linden, Pageau Carvings, pantocrator, steatite November 5, 2013

Carved Wedding Crowns

By Jonathan Pageau on August 5, 2013
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 […]

Posted in Liturgical Objects, Minor Arts | Tagged crown, Icon, iconography, Jonathan Pageau, maple, miniature, steatite, stone, wedding, wood July 8, 2014

Ethiopian Carving

By Jonathan Pageau on June 5, 2013
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 […]

Posted in Liturgical Objects, Minor Arts | Tagged blessing cross, Carving, Ethiopia, Icon, Orthodox, soapstone, st-george, steatite July 14, 2014

Learning Icon Carving with Hexaemeron

By Jonathan Pageau on May 24, 2013
Learning Icon Carving with Hexaemeron

Icon carving is an art which has been experiencing a great renewal in Orthodoxy all across the world.  In the last 15 years we have seen several amazing icon carvers appear, with Aidan Hart in England, the Azbuhanov couple in Russia.  The art of miniature carving has also been  finding  a quality it had lost […]

Posted in Iconography, News | Tagged Carving, Hexaemeron, icon carving, iconography, Jonathan Pageau, Mary Lowell, steatite, stone, training, wood, workshop July 14, 2014

Carving a Reliquary

By Jonathan Pageau on February 1, 2013
Carving a Reliquary

There are certain Medieval forms which have always been with me, seeming to affect an almost hypnotic attraction.  The casket reliquary or “chasse” is one of these.  Shaped like a tomb, but also suggesting a basilica church, these reliquaries most probably originate in early insular (Gaelic/Celtic/Pictish/Saxon) art. Most of us know this shape primarily from […]

Posted in Iconography, Liturgical Objects, Minor Arts | Tagged anastasis, casket, casket reliquary, celtic, chasse, deisis, insular, ivory, Jonathan Pageau, knotwork, pageau, relic, reliquary, steatite, zoomorphic July 14, 2014
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