Elena Murariu: Tribute to Romanian Martyrs

Elena Murariu’s exhibition “Martyrs”, as well as the album published on this occasion, bring to our attention the story of Romanian martyrs who prayed for their country and for the whole world. Some recognized, but most unknown, these martyrs are the gift of their people, an offering to God. Their bones cover the land of…

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The Drawings of Elena Murariu

  There’s theory and then there’s practice. The one flows from the other and back again, unceasingly. Their interdependence is indissoluble. Likewise, there’s “inner” drawing and then there’s “external” drawing. The first unfolds and takes shape in the imagination; the latter is the former’s manifestation. A masterful drawing seems to be as if a concrete…

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Notes on Method

St. Mamas of Caesarea by Fr. Silouan Justiniano. Egg tempera on wood, 46 in. x 31 in.    One has to know technique, but one also needs to know art. An icon should be like a ‘painting’, like a prayer written with beautiful letters…There are many craftsmen, but few real iconographers. Make an icon, a…

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Improving Icon Carving Through Drawing

One of the complex questions that faces modern icon carving is the pervasive presence of the painted icon within the tradition of iconography.   For many reasons which I hope to write about in the future, icon carving became a somewhat marginalized art form as the centuries advanced.  And so for myself and the small group…

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Review of “Icon As Communion” by George Kordis

As an Orthodox convert in search of traditional Christian images, as someone who fled the contemporary art world to find a home in liturgical art, George Kordis‘ iconography challenges me in so many ways. Kordis’ virtuosity is undeniable and his mannerism both of form and color refer all at once to Byzantine art and to Modern and…

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Designing Icons (pt.3): New Icons

This is post 3 of 9 in the series “Designing Icons” Aidan Hart gives us a full chapter on designing icons from his book “Techniques of Icon and Wall Painting.” Designing Icons (pt.1) Designing Icons (pt.2): Icon Prototypes Designing Icons (pt.3): New Icons Designing Icons (pt.4): Researching Festal Icons Designing Icons (pt.5): Conventions of Traditional…

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Designing Icons (pt.2): Icon Prototypes

This is post 2 of 9 in the series “Designing Icons” Aidan Hart gives us a full chapter on designing icons from his book “Techniques of Icon and Wall Painting.” Designing Icons (pt.1) Designing Icons (pt.2): Icon Prototypes Designing Icons (pt.3): New Icons Designing Icons (pt.4): Researching Festal Icons Designing Icons (pt.5): Conventions of Traditional…

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Designing Icons (pt.1)

This is post 1 of 9 in the series “Designing Icons” Aidan Hart gives us a full chapter on designing icons from his book “Techniques of Icon and Wall Painting.” Designing Icons (pt.1) Designing Icons (pt.2): Icon Prototypes Designing Icons (pt.3): New Icons Designing Icons (pt.4): Researching Festal Icons Designing Icons (pt.5): Conventions of Traditional…

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Teaching Art in a Catholic School

Some of you might be interested in reading a short article I wrote for the New Liturgical Movement.  I teach art once a week in a small Traditionalist Catholic school.  It has been a great joy to teach in a context so friendly to liturgical art.  On my first day, as I was explaining what…

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