Creativity
Preparing the ground
Christine’s post Courage Unparalleled is illustrated by an unfinished artwork with wooden board as base. To me the unfinished work has its own beauty, and it reminded me of the process of creating an icon in the Orthodox Christian tradition.
The finished icon is a prayerful work of art, but it would be nothing without the preparation of the board upon which it is painted.
The iconographer starts with a board of hard wood. Onto this is glued a sheet of linen. The linen is painted with a layer of gesso, a mineral compound usually mixed with animal-based glue (acrylic gesso is now available). Once this is dry, it is sanded down.
Then another layer of gesso is added, left to dry and sanded down. It isn’t uncommon to have eight layers of gesso, and the process can take days for each icon. The last layer must be sanded to the smoothness of glass.
Only then is the icon ready to be painted.
Perhaps we can see Advent as a time of sanding our surfaces in readiness for the gold leaf.
Photograph by jschroe
Discussion
4 comments for “Preparing the ground”
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Tess, thanks so much for these words and giving me a new window through which to see the process. I definitely have some surfaces that need more sanding!
Thanks Christine, me too!
Oh, the sanding, I could use some today!!! Starting with a workout at the YMCA this a.m., grocery store, quick lunch, brief shopping trip w/husband, baking 4 dozen cookies - eating too many of those - and now waiting for the Christmas pageant to begin……I have been a total grump. So my prayers in the pageant will be for personal sanding!!!!
Thanks for reminding me how important the “sanding” is! SS
SS: you need a light touch with the sander though, nothing wrong with enjoying a cookie after a workout!