Minor Arts
Two New Choros Chandeliers
I have had the opportunity recently to make and install two choros chandeliers, a type of fixture that is of particular interest to me as a designer. I have written previously about similar chandeliers I have installed in churches in Charleston, South Carolina, and Waldorf, Maryland, and I refer readers to those articles for information…
Continue reading »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…
Continue reading »Developing an Anglo-Byzantine Calligraphy for Memorial Plaques
I would like to describe an especially challenging recent project, in which I had the honor to collaborate with a master calligrapher. I was asked to create a pair of memorial plaques flanking an icon. The purpose was to commemorate donors who contributed to two separate capital campaigns benefitting Saint Nicholas Melkite Church, in Rochester,…
Continue reading »Lighting in Orthodox Churches: Liturgical Principles and Practical Ideas
What are we aiming to achieve when we choose lighting for an Orthodox church? We need a certain amount of light to see, but lighting also creates an ambience, helps to create an inner state. So what ambience are we seeking to create in our churches? These and other questions face parishes and monasteries when…
Continue reading »The Question of Polychrome – Part 2: Painting a Byzantine Analogion
This is post 2 of 2 in the series “The Question of Polychrome for Liturgical Woodcarving” Andrew Gould looks at the role polychromy has played in historical liturgical arts and how it can be adapted to contemporary designs. The Question of Polychrome for Liturgical Woodcarving – Part 1 The Question of Polychrome – Part 2:…
Continue reading »The Bronze Icons of Alex Aleksejevas
Aleksandras Aleksejevas is a Lithuanian Sculptor who now works our of the UK. He has been member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors since 2004 and also a member of the International Art Foundation of Moscow since 2000. He works in several mediums, though his favorite is bronze, and it is in this medium that he has…
Continue reading »Holy Tables with Reliquaries, a Short History
In this overview and the one that will follow I have combined the history of altars (also called holy tables), ciboria and tabernacles because their respective developments are somewhat related. In this first section I will deal with Holy Tables and will focus on ciboria and tabernacles in the second installment. My interest in…
Continue reading »The Printmaking Tradition on Mount Athos
Editor’s note: We would like to introduce our new contributor, Markos Kampanis. Markos is a prominent artist and iconographer in Greece. He has a particular expertise in Athonite murals and prints and will be sharing his knowledge in a series of articles. Artistic tradition on Mt Athos is usually associated with painted icons and murals.…
Continue reading »A Cloisonné Enamel Reliquary Icon of Saint Vincent of Zaragoza
Editor’s note: This article continues Aidan Hart’s recent article about a reliquary for Saint Vincent of Zaragoza and details Christabel Anderson’s process for making the cloisonnée icon. This article contains a background to the history and technique of cloisonné enamel and a description of the processes used in making the cloisonné enamel icon plaque of Saint Vincent…
Continue reading »Reliquary of St-Vincent of Zaragoza
For many years I had wanted to design some liturgical work involving cloisonné, so I was delighted when Father Andrey Kordochkin of the Russian Orthodox Church of St Mary Magdalene approached me to make a reliquary for St Vincent of Zaragoza. In the cloisonné technique, thin wire is laid onto plate, usually of silver or…
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