Iconography and Meditation
Icon Painting and their Secret Technique
Published on 12. October 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
52 pages
978-1-387-76730-4 (ISBN)
Description
Iconography and Meditation
is an introduction to Icon Painting and their Secret Techniques revealed through the practice. This book reads as a step-by-step guide, for how to create your own icon. The 12-step sequence is a simplified road map for proceeding from vision to creation. Every step is accompanied by suggested meditations to focus the mind with more awareness on who we are painting. However, while easy to follow detailed instructions about technique and materials are provided, my main objective is to emphasize the mystical experience of the process itself.
The painter or writer of an icon will come to better understand the two natures of Christ - flesh and spirit. The mystery is revealed in the process and meditation technique. St. Athanasius says: "Christ became man that man might become God." This simple statement has intrigued and confounded me my whole adult life. Eight words explain perfectly the relationship of flesh and spirit and how they are inextricably connected. When the icon painter paints an image of the divines invisible nature it is the same sort of relationship. Painting from the heart, leaving an imprint of our prayer.
Mystical concepts are inspirational, and take a lifetime to fully grasp.
I stumbled into icon painting with egg tempera and earth pigments. Discovering Organic Egg Tempera and its Secret Techniques inspired my desire to paint icons. For three decades I have experimented with different forms of prayer. Saints and theologians gave me a solid foundation for meditation; sitting for long periods of time in silence. The awareness of simplicity, of just breathing as a miraculous thing. The concept of ground stone and the inexhaustible dimension of mind made a strong impression upon me. Through meditation I found a new way to commune with the Spirit, and painting images with Mother Earth using egg tempera. If you can grasp the inter-relationship of flesh and spirit in any one aspect of your life, then it is possible to see it run like an electrical current through all of life.
More details
Language
English
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 280 mm
Width: 216 mm
Thickness: 4 mm
Weight
222 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-387-76730-4 (9781387767304)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Iconography and Meditation explains How to paint icons. Iconography is revealed through the process of looking into the ancient Icon Painting images and their Secret Techniques revealed through prayer or awareness. This book describes only one Secret Prayer Method, supported by a brief history of Iconography, and the use of organic materials. The Icon of St Luke is instructional, a clear explanation for what the iconography is trying to achieve. Mary Jane Miller's overview of How to Paint an Icon is unique and provocative. Her approach is honest and prayerful. The first strokes and first lines, followed by a chaos of color should not deter you, it is the beginning. After Second lines, Highlights and Veils the process and how to do iconography becomes more clear. You are encouraged to analyze Icon Images,it is the way to discover the depth and robust mystery found in this ancient practice. Mixing Paint for Lettering, Pigment Recipe Guide, Prayers for an Iconographer, Rules for the Iconographer, are all included in Mary Jane Miller Books. Her other guide, How to Paint Icons; Workbook and Journal, for the contemporary iconographer is a great supplement to this Iconography and Meditation. If you are looking for more info about the ancient teachings of this great practice Miller's advice it to persevere, pray and practice.