Reflections on Iconography and Life

The original sketch

The new sketch

"Not a knowledge that you learn, but a knowledge that you suffer. That is Orthodox spirituality."   -Eldress Gavrielia 

 The sketch for the icon has changed, particularly with the Saint's armor where a more angular design was chosen to emphasize the Saint's manliness.

 Iconography and Orthodox spiritual life have a lot in common because, of course, they cannot exist without each other. Icons are an integral part of Orthodox theology, since they are ultimately about Christology. Christ became incarnate and sanctified the matter of the universe, therefore we can use matter to depict Him and His Saints.

When designing an icon, we begin with prayer and then the sketch. The iconographer is not really an artist. The Artist is God, and the iconographer strives to be His instrument. But the iconographer is a human instrument living under the conditions of the Fall. In sketching the icon, the iconographer sits with their design and continually looks for ways of improving it. This means using the eraser as much as we use the pencil. And Orthodox spiritual striving is like this also, is it not? It is not an end but a continual process, a journey towards God which continues throughout this life and the next. We fall, we get up, we improve, we see ways of improving more, we fall again, we get up again and so on.

Sometimes, the iconographer sits with a sketch and looks at it for a long time. They know something is wrong, but can't quite put their finger on it. They pray, they study, they look at more perfect models, they seek advice from the more experienced, and then, God willing, they see what needs to be erased and changed, what needs to be added or subtracted. Just like all of life and especially spiritual life.