Roskrish, layer 1

Today I applied the Roskrish colors. Traditionally, the next step would be to do any gilding, or "gold leaf" sections. Since I didn't have any gilding to do, I skipped applying bole and gold leaf. Roskrish colors are dark and muted. They represent the base materials that life (and this icon) are formed from.

So, first off-- mixing the egg tempera. This is prepared, as everything in iconography with intentionality and prayer. The yoke of the egg is separated out and punctured to release the inner yolk, from the membrane. Eggs are such a symbol of new life; and this is no exception. This is one of the first steps to "birthing" an icon, if you will. It is combined with a thinning and acidic agent, which for me was a vinegar/distilled water mix. (Dry white wine can also be used.)

With my egg mixture, I was ready to mix. Mixing is probably the largest mystery to me. I took a tiny bit of the all-natural pigment, and used my dropper to add the egg mixture. I found that I needed about 4-6 drops to get the consistency below:

From here, I started with the background of my icon. Generally, you would first start with the main image of the icon. However, my images are fairly small, so I needed to practice the special brush stroke for icons.

"A long wide brush stroke is considered the
narcissistic 'mark of the artist,' and
unbecoming to an iconographer."
-Betsy Porter

Therefore, the brush strokes are in small circular patterns. I found this extremely serene to paint. It is concentrated and precise. I found myself, while painting the robes, able to meditate on the meaning of each color, and it's attribute of God. I started dwelling on the difference of Christ's Reddish robes relating to Christ coming to the earth as a man, representing the dirt that man was created out of by the father versus the Holy Spirit's greenish robes relating to the Spirit's presence amid creation and life, in a subtly different way. Both have come to earth, and yet each in their own unique way of relation. It reminds me once again of the way that community has such a part to play in the Trinity and therefore our relationship with God. Even when encountering the same thing, we experience and relate to it different than others. We were created as individuals, with different talents and gifts, and it seems precisely in the image of God, who also relates to us in different ways.

What do you see, in the formation of these figures?