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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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How long have you been making art? What artistic training or formation did you receive?
For as long as I can remember. I really loved making art, and it was one of the few things I explored eagerly: drawing, painting, sewing, cooking, origami, carving out stamps from rubber erasers, calligraphy, iconography, mosaics, chaining rosary beads, and the list goes on.
As for training, I took several art classes from grade school to high school, and an Art History lecture class in college, but everything after that has just been self-study. Catholic school formation, as well as my post-college monastery and seminary formation became very helpful in keeping my icons as theologically correct and canonical as possible. A few trustworthy and educated iconographers were also very enthusiastic with writing about their wisdom, and I'm thankful I have them available as resource.
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What makes an icon an icon?
Click here.
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What got you into iconography? What drew you into the Coptic tradition?
I honestly don't remember how I got into iconography. I think God just led me there out of curiosity. In particular, Coptic iconography has a special place in my heart as an artist because Coptic icons portray the saints as being calm, serene, peaceful, unscathed, and free from all anxiety. They have been filtered and cleansed of all earthly cares and gaze at you with love, compassion, and mercy, and these all draw me to a deeper relationship with God.
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Which iconographers and artists do you take inspiration from?
A lot, actually, and most of whom are Coptic. My biggest sources of inspiration are Isaac Fanous, Yousuf Nassief and his wife Bedour Latif. Others Alexandrian iconographers in my radar include Fadi Mikhail, Edmon Kamel, George Makary, Stephane Rene, Adel Nassief, Evelyn Avery Rophael and her husband Wafik, Yuhanna al-Armani, and the artists of the Fayoum mummy portraits. I follow other iconographers too, including Aidan Hart, Valentin Streltsov, Bojan Teodosijevic, Vivian Imbruglia, and Elizabeth Zelasko. I also follow a few non-iconographic artists such as Jordan Avery, Fernando Mendoza, Anh Do Mai, Nelson Villamor, Leanne Bowen, Maysoun Yatooma Seman, and Beau Bernier Frank.
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What does it feel like to make an icon?
Having made many, I can tell you that it's not a romantic experience. It's all in a day's work. But I do take into account that it is not a selfish job. I'm not just making icons for my own viewing. The icons I make end up being exposed to everyone: even those who are not part of the Church. So I do my best to show the beauty of the Church in my works, and I take big pride in that.
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What's your art style like, and how did you come up with it?
I don't actively try to develop my art style. It's a learning experience.
I really love using guidelines when I draw. I focus a lot on structure. I try to see patterns and achieve artistic consistency. My iconographic stamp has been steering close to the style of Yousuf Nassief and Bedour Latif (look at my graphite work on St. Francis), but then, it also can't be helped that they look geometric (as in the style of Isaac Fanous). I also take from the icon prints made by the monks of Mount Athos in the 17th to 19th century (which explains the black-and-white appearance of my latest pieces. In essence, my works emphasize presence and familiarity: the concept of Immanuel, which means "God is with us."
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Do you sell prints?
Yes, yes I do! I used to sell prints on Etsy a few years ago, but I went on hiatus for personal reasons. Now that I'm back, I'm slowly putting in new entries of my more recent work on that same Etsy store. I'm printing my work at home now, so I have the convenience of printing on-demand. If there is a specific artwork or icon that I've made before that you want to have and it's not listed on my Etsy store, I encourage you to send me an inquiry on my contact page, and I'll see if I still have the means to produce you a quality print.
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What art media and equipment do you use? How do you print your prints?
Colored pencil, graphite, and digital medium are my main media. I print my prints with dye ink, using an Epson Ecotank ET-8500.
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What is your artistic process?
There isn't a solidified process. I do my research beforehand, but I think I grow in wisdom and improve in practice as I move forward with an icon. I sketch it out on paper, correct it digitally if it needs to be, then I proceed with making the actual icon in the right medium. It's always a rough experience with lots of panic and heartaches, but the final product is also always very fulfilling.
All my work wouldn't be possible without the prayers of the faithful, so I do encourage my clients to pray while I'm making their icons. And at the end, I venerate the icons before I send them out.
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How long does it take for you to complete a piece?
It really depends on many factors, so I can't give an exact time frame. I've once made two icons in two days (it was exhausting!), and I remember making a few icons that dragged on for months before completion. I'm faithful with deadlines, but I admit that some icons are more difficult to make than others, and time and emotional disposition becomes more of an influencing factor than knowledge and skill.
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Why do you sign your work the way you do, and what do the characters mean? I thought iconographers don't sign their work.
It's because there is no canon that says an iconographer can't sign his work. Out of respect for some people's preferences, I tend to sign my icons on the back, and it's there to remind the client to pray for me, and it helps other people find me so I can have the privilege of making icons for them too.
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Are the icons [or the other religious images] blessed, or do I have to get them blessed?
In case the icons get damaged in the shipping process (which is highly unlikely, but nevertheless possible), I don't get them blessed. Furthermore, different traditions have different ways of blessing icons, so since my clients come from different religious backgrounds and iconographic schools, I leave it to them to have the icons blessed according to his/her tradition. One school says that the icon IS already blessed by the mere presence of a holy figure; or, similarly, it is thought to have been blessed when a priest writes the saint's name on the icon in red paint. Another school says that the icon is blessed on the altar at the invocation to the Holy Spirit during the Epiclesis of the Divine Liturgy. Yet another school says the icon has to be placed somewhere in the sanctuary for a specific number of days to witness a specific number of Eucharistic consecrations. I give my clients this opportunity to be personally involved in the completion of an icon. Does one HAVE to have an icon blessed? Not really. But it is always better to have it blessed. God's mercy radiates from blessed objects whenever we use them, so I always try to get my personal sacramentals blessed as quickly as I can.
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How do you package and send your pieces?
I package my original pieces in cellophane bags and rigid mailers, along with business cards, free stuff (if I have any in my stash), and a certificate of authenticity. I send things off online via USPS mostly. Packaging changes as I grow as an entrepreneur, and I always try to find more beautiful and efficient ways to pack and ship orders.
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What is a fixative, and is it needed?
A fixative is a spray-on "varnish" that I use on my artworks to prevent the surface from damage. Is it needed? Well, it depends on what you want. Treating the piece with a fixative adds a layer of protection, but if in the distant future a restoration is called for, the restorator can't do much. Leaving the surface of the piece untreated makes it easier for a specialist to restore the image in the distant future. So the choice depends whether you want a slight vulnerability but an easy fix if needed, or permanence but a difficult fix if problems arise. If you choose to have the fixative, make sure that the piece is stored in a cool, dry, and protected environment. But if your piece does not have a fixative, make sure you frame it in a UV archival glass frame as soon as you can. I apply fixative on my work by default. Please let me know ASAP if you wish otherwise.
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Why do you include a "Certificate of Authenticity?"
The document includes my artistic seal and signature, the place where I created the work, and the materials I used. If, in the future, an old client needs to take my piece to an art restoration specialist for any reason at all, the contents of the certificate would be useful for him to plan out how to restore the piece.
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You have relics in your custody?
Yes, I have quite a few second and third class relics in my company, so I do have company when I am in my studio!
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