Traditional Iconography

Here you'll find the work of women who create "true" icons as defined by the Orthodox Church. A traditional icon uses a specified set of materials and is created through a schematic twelve-step process. Its composition conforms with designs that were devised by early iconographers, which have been passed down over the centuries. The subjects of these icons are holy figures who have been recognized by the church canon.

The icons in these pages have been created using the traditional egg tempera method of painting that was devised by early iconographers. The paint applied using this technique is a mixture of egg yolk, which represents the raw potential for life, and rare earth pigments that symbolise eternity and the divine. Successive layers of paint are applied to a flat board in a process known as 'puddling' that allows the features of the subject to emerge out of the materials that are used by the iconographer. In this way, the subject reveals themselves through the materials used. The final image may deviate from the gestational first lines that are made by the iconographer and therefore reflect the subject’s power over them.

The iconographer paints from darkness to light in a manner that emulates the creation of the world from out of chaos. Following an opposite trajectory to modern artists, they begin with the shadows and then overlay the details of the subject's features and clothes through a series of successive highlights. These highlights have no external source of light because the subject dwells in an eternal world that is made up entirely of light.

The women in these pages are inspired by this ancient artform and its power to facilitate an encounter with a divine subject, as well as its ability to connect them with early Christian artists and the lives of the saints. They are part of Christianity's most ancient school, and lineage, of painting.