New Exhibition Opens on Role of Icons in Prayer Life of the Faithful
St. Michael’s Arts & Faith Ministry is pleased to present during the month of January the exhibition “Communion of Saints: Role of Icons in the Prayer Life of the Eastern Church.”
Not just “pretty pictures, icons help us recall the memory of those who gave witness to their faith in God and their dedication to the Christian community, explains artist and icon writer” George Ziobro. Painting icons, he says,is also a form of prayer. You cannot work on an image for 20-100 hours without reflecting on the saint and his or her importance to the faithful. Each brush stroke incorporates not only my hopes, joys, and sorrows but also those of people who have asked me to pray for them.
More than a dozen icons by George hang in the parish hall. Included are images of Archangels Michael and Gabriel, St. Luke, St. John the Evangelist, the Annunciation (Virgin at the Loom), and Sts. Anne and Mary. George has prepared helpful wall text for each icon that comprises a brief biography of the saint or Bible setting depicted and a graphic indicating where on an iconostasis in an Eastern Church the icon would appear. (The iconostasis is the screen separating the sanctuary from the nave.)
Most of the icons are made with egg tempera, a hand-made painting medium composed of ground pigment, water, and egg yolk, which acts as a binding agent; the medium is fast-drying, non-toxic, and permanent. Several other icons are painted with acrylics. One is a mosaic. Yet another is encaustic.
Mid-month, George is scheduled to conduct a three-day icon writing workshop and retreat, the results of which will be on view to parishioners following the January 28 service.
For those unable to view the exhibition in person, an online presentation has been prepared.
Maureen Doallas
Curator, Arts & Faith Ministry