When young, I gravitated to clay in school and the muddy hole that I had dug in the back yard for fun. At university, I studied portrait sculpture and soil science (among other things). I think I learned so many ‘hows’ and ‘shoulds’ working with soil that the process lost the sense of discovery and spontaneity that once made it joyful. Instead of enjoying the process, I enjoyed the finished pieces.
I’ve always found painting relaxing. I never formally studied it. Whereas the traditional sculpture that I did was well suited for immutable ideas and virtues, painting captured fleeting moments in time, framed within their own atmosphere and light. I had plenty of exposure to paintings through art history classes, but didn’t take many classes, and the medium always was a go-to when I needed to blow off steam.
I was drawn to iconographic paintings because they, like much traditional figurative sculpture, work to convey more static ideas. I had the good fortune to work for Eikona Studios for a couple years in Cleveland OH. I didn’t paint the icons, but I had a steady hand and could do line work and calligraphy for them, and also some architectural ornament. I didn’t dwell on the fact that I was an Atheist when I worked there, but instead took on the well-defined tasks with reverence for the meaning they would carry for the practitioners of the faiths. Upon completion, the works are all blessed by a priest, and then put in a state of lockdown where I, as female, would no longer be able to work on them for repairs or what not, so it’s all ‘saved’ from my dirty female, heathen hands in the end, I suppose.
All round about, but that was my first serious introduction to iconography. Working quietly in a dome, while lettering saints’ names in Cyrillic, I would see people come in during the day, find a familiar spot in the pews, and pray, unawares that someone other than their god was looking down upon them. It was a remarkable perspective. It gave me, instead of the customary rage at organized religion that Atheists often carry, a deep appreciation for what faith can do for those who are able to make that leap.
But, I can’t make that leap. My belief system is based on observable and quantifiable phenomena, and the models that explain them: Science. So… I am working on a series of icons depicting, not unlike the Stations of the Cross in Catholicism, critical moments. Moments, however, in biology that have shaped the course of evolution.
The geometry 
Begining underpainting 
Underpainting complete 
Beginning highlights 
and lowlights. 
Dried mud. 
Puddle 
Size applied for fake silver leaf 
Painting has proven so relaxing and meditative. I’m thrilled to be back to it again. It’s also healthy. I stand when I paint, and it’s low impact on the joints.
