Icons painted by members of St George's community
This icon was painted by various members of St George's church - Susan Bunyard, Simon Lord, Shellie Wright, with calligraphy by John Downey.
The idea for it came about because we wanted to express our overall vision of Christ in Community: a community that can contain all shades of life - as the words along the top say,
Dreams and nightmares, hopes and fears...
At the centre of the picture is Christ, a figure of compassion and love, and surrounding him, four different aspects of community.
Top right is the saxophone player, symbolising celebrations and our love of music.
The naked figure below, based on Van Gogh's Woman of Sorrows, speaks of a place where it is safe to be sad, ok to be weak and vulnerable
Opposite, we find a group of children listening to a story. Children are an important part of this community, as are stories - whether our own, or those from the Bible. This brings the two ideas together.
Finally, top left, the kneeling figure expresses, through masks, different moods of living.
Above the figure of Christ is a dove, representing the Spirit of God.
It is our prayer that you will experience this Spirit, not only in this painting, but in our building and in your life beyond it.
This icon is now hung just inside the church.
Last year, some of us attended a
three day icon workshop at All Hallows
by the Tower.
We started by reciting the
icon-painter's prayer, then learnt
how to mix egg tempura,
trace an icon sketch, and paint
"from dark to light", finishing by
applying real gold leaf.
This was an exhilarating and
deeply enriching experience,
one we would love to repeat!
This icon was also painted by members of our community. It hangs on the outside wall of the church, facing Carleton Road, and this view shows the left panel... Scroll down this page to see more panels of this icon.
This is the centre image of
the above icon....
This is the right-hand side
of the triptych.......
Come to St George's to see
the whole icon.