Our Commission is Finished

Click for a pdf of the Annotation of this Icon

Click to read the Prayer – Breastplate of Saint Patrick

Mid-February marked the completion of the icon of Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland commissioned by Saint Patrick Catholic Church in Northwest Portland – one of Portland’s oldest, historic churches.

We wrote this icon in the traditional method of egg tempera with historic pigments of earth ochres and ground minerals on an exquisitely custom-crafted linden wood icon panel made by an artisan in Rome, Italy. In keeping with ancient tradition, this board is gessoed with calcium carbonate (from Bologna and Meudon), rabbit skin glue and gelatin, polished to a lustrous finish to accept the egg tempera pigment. Iconographer, Dennis Sellon who is also a sculptor, carved Celtic interlace patterns into each corner around the relic and on the opposite side of the icon to balance the design element of the relic. These beautiful embellishments glister subtly through the gilding.

Before we embarked on this project, we read about the life of St. Patrick, his two extant writings (his Confession and Letter to Coroticus) and prayed for his constant intercession throughout this process.

About this Historic Medium

Egg tempera is one of the oldest mediums used in iconography, second only to encaustic. Staying true to tradition, we rely on the same formulas described in Il Libro dell Arti, a quattrocento handbook for artists written by Cennino Cennini. We blend our own pigments with egg emulsion as a binder to natural earth ochres and ground minerals, creating fresh pigment to be used at each work session. The beauty of egg tempera is luminescence and depth achieved though layer upon layer of transparent pigment washes over a polished, marble-like gessoed board.

The icon of Saint Patrick is painted with hundreds of transparent washes of natural blues, greens, yellows and oranges. Each of the colors you see in the water are also painted in the sky, in his vestments, in the island and snake, even blended subtly in his skin tone. The holistic strategy of moving color around the composition harmonizes the look and feel of of the icon as a complement to the geometry described below.

We purchase historic pigments from Zecchi’s Colori Belle Arti, the same art shop that supplies the Uffizi for conservation of the world’s masterpieces in Florence, Italy. Zecchi’s is at located at the site of a continuously operational pigment purveyor since the 1300s, or the times of Giotto! It is quite an experience to walk in to their shop down the street from the Duomo on Studio Street. The walls are like a comprehensive color palette, lined floor to ceiling with jars of colored powdered pigments.

Florence has been known since the time of the Medici’s for its fine gold, which is one reason we also purchase Florentine gold in various colors. This icon is gilded in four different shades of gold.

Sacred Geometry

Geometry of the Board

A well balanced icon begins with a carefully constructed composition. We began by first determining the geometry of the board.

Gingerbread Man

Using ancient formulas employed for many centuries by artists and architects to scale designs and determine proportion, we were able to determine the size and proportion of St. Patrick’s body to fit this board. We used these measurements to create a moveable “gingerbread man” that we manipulated until we grasped his overall dimension and pose before developing our placement drawing. Ania Kocurek-Williams, who teaches our Byzantine Drawing and Geometry classes, put her drawing skills to use in working out the composition.

The overall design was seen in prayer. Christine drew his face dozens of times, and each time St. Patrick revealed himself in the very same way.

Here is a walk through of the completed icon:

St. Patrick’s History

Saint Patrick was a Roman citizen of 5th century Britain, born into the Roman patrician class tasked with civilizing the wild frontier on the empire’s edge – Britain. At the age of 15, Patrick was kidnapped by Irish pirates and sold into slavery to an Irish druid to become a shepherd, forced to live outdoors in harsh conditions caring for his flock. Suffering prompted a conversion of heart and formed him physically, emotionally and spiritually, transforming him into the mighty shepherd for the faithful he evangelized during dangerous and brutal times in Ireland.

The Gospel Book

St. Patrick holds the red Gospel book reverently with his garment in his right hand, careful not to touch it with his bare hands. The cover displays the tetramorphs of the four evangelists in traditional Celtic style, gilded and embellished with semi-precious gemstones communicating its preciousness. Throughout history, familiar pagan symbols have been borrowed to establish common ground in teaching the Gospel, which is why we chose to highlight Irish culture on the Gospel book. The book is presented in the iconographic style, which does not follow linear perspective, because that is man’s construct. Instead, it is visible from different angles all at once, perhaps as God sees it. The exquisitely detailed book of Gospels was designed and painted by Rachael Kitchens.

Presence of the Holy Spirit

St. Patrick is fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, present as the fiery red-orange wind emanating from the relic of St. Patrick embedded in the icon’s gilded frame.

In iconography, the Holy Spirit can be represented by the heat of reds and oranges, as a flame, as a cloud, and as wind, which causes his chasuble to billow up in mushroom-shaped folds, lifting and supporting him in his fight against evil.

The orange-red sky is the dominant color scheme in the honorific position to St. Patrick’s right, in deference to the relic of St. Patrick, positioned nearest to the Gospel – a powerful combination for fighting evil. The relic of St. Patrick was graciously donated by Fr. Jon Buffington.

The Power to Tread on Serpents

Amidst turbulence incited by evil, St. Patrick deftly pins the snake, symbol of paganism, under his bare foot. Through the Holy Spirit, he remains resolute, strong, and calm. The crozier represents the authority and pastoral care of the Church and held in his left hand communicate his status as a Bishop. The Gospels represent the Word of God; while St. Patrick’s bare feet communicate his power and fortitude to overcome evil with the Word of God in one hand and the teaching of the Church in the other.

His bare feet remind us of his life as a teenage enslaved shepherd who lived unsheltered with the animals in a harsh climate, shivering from cold and fear. Praying up to 100 prayers a night, St. Patrick overcame fear and personal hardship to become a skillful combatant of evil and Christianize the Irish tribal culture.

Truly, he was given the power to tread on serpents. Lk 10:19

The Cliffs & Sea of Ireland

St. Patrick is centered on the island of Ireland, ringed by red brown cliffs both in reality and in the icon, surrounded by a tempestuous sea. This is a battle icon, intended to depict the dynamic motion of metaphysical and natural forces spiraling wildly around one who remains calm in the eye of the storm. As with the Gospel book, the perspective is not realistic or from man’s point of view, but rather from what we imagine God can see – everything all at once and from all angles.

The Serpent

The serpent is the evil mirror to St. Patrick, beautiful and tempting, painted in the very same colors as St. Patrick but in darker shades, tinged with black, a color reserved for the literal and figurative privation of light. The triskelion, an ancient Celtic pagan symbol is painted on the serpent’s head to connect the brutality of Irish pagan culture to the serpent’s inclination to divide, cast doubt and propagate evil in the world. The snake is a metaphor for St. Patrick’s conversion of Irish pagan tribes to Christianity. He keeps the snake in check physically with his feet and metaphorically with the crozier. This beautifully detailed serpent was painted by Fr. Jon Buffington.

Embellishments

It wasn’t until we finished the icon and cataloged its many gemstones that we realized there were 33 semi-precious stones inset in the image! The frame contains an additional 21 cabochons.

Corner Detail

The icon’s engraved frame is gilded in 23.75 karat gold and embellished with 21 malachite cabochons. Notice the Celtic Cross in each corner, carved by Dennis Sellon.

St Patrick’s halo is 23.75 karat red gold while the Gospels and crozier are gilded with white gold. The crozier is decorated with Carnelian, Rhodiolote garnets, and rose cut garnet cabochons.

Detail of Celtic Cross on Omorphorion with 1 mm Australian Opal

We adorned both his miter and pallium with 22.5 karat shell gold and if you look closely, you will see 1 mm Australian opals in the center of each of the three Celtic crosses on his Omophorion.

Detail of the Gospels

Rachael Kitchens gilded and embellished the Gospels with heart shaped Hessonite garnets, red garnet cabochons, faceted square lapis lazuli cabochons and peridots.

In Gratitude

Between us all, nearly 1,000 hours were prayerfully devoted to every facet of writing this icon over the past 13 months at St. Mary’s Cathedral where Monsignor O’Connor graciously granted us a spacious and light filled studio to work.

This icon of St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland was written for the glory of God

through the hands of His servants:

Christine Thum Schlesser

Ania Kocurek Williams

Father Jon Buffington

Rachael Kitchens

Dennis Sellon

Special thanks to craftsmen Jay Goodell and Dennis Rood

St. Patrick in the Sanctuary

St. Patrick’s Feast Day March 17

Saint Patrick Catholic Church will be open on March 17 from 7:30am to 7:30pm in honor of St. Patrick’s feast day. The icon is on display in the sanctuary.