Today, we visited an icon workshop. They make all the icons by hand, and they showed us all the many steps involved. First, they start with blocks of wood, the type of wood depending on the icon.
Wood base
The wood is hand carved.
Hand carved wood
If the icon will have metal on it, the metal is then shaped into the desired form.
Silver plate
All painting is done on canvas, so the canvas is then stretched.
Stretching the canvas
The foil is then added.
Supplies including foil and brush for foil
Bright powder pigments are used for the paint, and duck egg and vinegar are other ingredients.
Powder pigments
Powder pigments
The icon is then hand painted.
Hand painting
An example of a beautiful final product.
Finished icon