One of the very few working artists I know, raised me. One of my moms (yes I have two matched sets of parents) is a mural artist. She had a phrase growing up "that is going to take a long time to get to happy." It meant that whatever project you were working on was going to be high on the blood sweat and tear meter.
The Holy Table is taking a long time to get to happy. A really long time. I am still not there yet but there is paint on every area that needs paint. It is a start, but I am not happy yet.
At the heart of the matter is that the process by which we chose to paint the table is almost identical to the old liturgical pieces of Byzantine art. I realized that about 3/4 of the way through. I kept having this nagging thought, "man I have seen this before...". Then it hit me. These pieces were all over Eastern Europe. There were HUGE gold leafed panels in all of the churches. They were beautiful and I had admired them for the obvious labor of love. Then again those monks had a lot of time on their hands. A lot.
We started by painting the panel stark white and then effectively gold leafing the thing with gold paint. Gold leafing a 2 cubit table is not a quick road. Due to dissimilar paints the process really looks and acts (grrr) like gold leaf. It is striking when it dries. Of course it takes 8 coats (not an exaggeration...) to get to happy. Before that it is just pure frustration.
It amused me that Dee and Kelly would have been right in the thick of this sort of art. This is angel art at it's finest and it does not surprise me that this is what they called for. This would have been the equivalent of ritual robes for CM folks. It is a physical indication that you are in a different head space. The fact that the thing moves like it is 3D because of the colors is just funky. Between the spinning Sigillium and that table I am curious to see what scrys out of it.
When I touch up all the lines and finally get to happy I will post some pictures. Until then I will simply admire the monks for their patience.
2 comments:
If you think about it (and I am sure you have) true art is magic, and vice versa. I also think that the longer a time it takes to get to happy, the longer sustaining the happy is. I look forward to seeing more of your project as it goes along.
Thank you for your words of encouragement and your wisdom. Yes, I will be happy when it is completed and no I would not be happy if it was slap dash.
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