St. Clement, Post 9: Layers of Gesso...and dreams

It’s 5 pm, the sun has set, and a Gregorian Chant - Hymnus ad vesperas (Hymn at Vespers) is appropriately playing. The incense is lit. I sit down, and begin the process of overlaying the veiled board with the gesso.

“Now the earth was formless and empty..." – Genesis 1:2a (NIV)

In the container, the gesso *looked* right. I cut the first block out, and pushed it down upon the Icon Board. Using a putty “knife,” I began spreading it across the face of the Icon.

It spread – in a beautiful, thin, even coat.

It adhered. And it dried.

Smoothly.

The First Coat.

Eight or Nine more to go…...

* * * * *

A day later....we're up to 7 coats. 3 more to go. Lots of questions: Will I use real gold leaf? Should I just paint a golden halo? (I'm leaning towards gold leaf...because I just don't want to cut corners on this.) Will I use black India ink to make the necessary lines of the figures, or just etched lines in the gesso with a stylus, or dark grey ink, or carbon transfer patterns ? ? ?

And the most troubling question: I noticed that my Icon board dimensions are one inch or so narrower than the first Icon I painted. As I envision a border of a half-inch, or three-quarters inch all around, it looks like the space I have remaining makes for difficult proportions if I want to include St. Clement holding a scroll, his pallium, and the quarry rocks gushing water...how to do this? I went to sleep without answering my question, hoping it would somehow 'come to me.'

And it did. In a dream.

I actually dreamed that St. Clement spoke to me. He was holding his unfurled scroll, and it was hanging outside of (on top of) the icon's border, as if it was coming out of the Icon towards me.

How perfect: St. Clement served in Rome, was exiled in the Crimea at the hands of the Romans, was imprisoned in a quarry at the hands of the Romans, and was bound to an anchor in the Black Sea at the hands of the Romans. His movements were circumscribed by the Roman powers around him...and yet, his words made it not only to Corinth (where they were intended), but to Christians in Egypt who read his letter as Scripture, and across continents and time to inform Christians today.

St. Clement confined within the border. His words spilling beyond. How incredibly Perfect!!!



And, just to blow me away: When I woke up this morning, my partner turned and said to me, "I had the craziest dream last night. I dreamt that St. James spoke to me about how to proceed with an icon of him . . ."

I was told these kind of things would happen....