As the Emperor Justinian, the Patriarch Maximianus and their assorted flunkies and spin doctors look down upon us from across the ages, we ponder the passage of time and the value of art.
Please note that wand prices have been substantially reduced.
Also note the addition of a new cut paper/mixed media picture (actually a print of it), an icon of St. Therese of Lisieux, the second in a series--with John the Baptist coming up next, and hopefully a madonna and child for Christmas.
These icons are inspired not so much by traditional Orthodox icons as by images of saints from Byzantine churches of centuries ago--images which are themselves icons in the broad sense although they are not painted or portable (they are stone/glass mosaics plastered on stone walls).
Byzantine mosaics represent a whole glorious world of art that gets too little attention in the art history books--probably due mainly to the fact that Western and non-Western art are usually treated more or less separately. But how separate were these realms, really, during the long period before the Byzantine Empire was finally brought to an end by Turkish invaders c. 1450? A question for the historians. There is, at any rate, a treasure-trove of beauty and inspiration in Byzantine mosaic art, and I am trying in my own very small way to keep the tradition not only alive but lively as well.
Anyone interested in commissioning a work on a favorite saint--I would love to hear from you.
