St. Clement - Post 18 - What a Difference a Day Makes . . .

 This evening's project was the border around the Icon.  I had originally conceived of the border as something "Roman," something that would represent the Roman Empire attempting to surround and control the early Christians.  I had planned for Clement's scroll to extend beyond the border, precisely to show how his words transcended the physical limitations that Rome would place on him. I had decided early on that I would try and use a border that resembled a roman mosaic, which were plentiful in the time Clement walked the earth. 

But the question remained...what colors? What pattern?

I had initially thought I would use red and white in an alternating checked pattern, red being the symbol of martyrs and white being the symbol of God's purity....but the more I considered it, the more I thought that combination to be inappropriate.  There was little in Rome's persecution of Christians that could be thought of as 'pure;' and so I chose the color "Buff Titanium" instead, which is a yellowed and sullied form of white...perfect for a Roman Empire that saw its emporors as divine, but who,in reality, were less than that. I also worried that a simple checked red and white pattern would look a little bit like a picnic tablecloth or the floor of a 1950s diner.

In checking pictures of actual Roman mosaics, fish motifs seemed to be a very common theme of the era. With the fish as an early secret symbol of Christianity, it seemed a natural choice. And, given Clement's association with the sea and with the anchor symbol...it seemed natural to attempt mosaics of anchors and fish.

So, with the Gregorian chant playing in the room and the sandalwood incense lit, I set out to duplicate mosaic tile work in egg tempera.

The pattern came naturally...anchors in triplicate on either side, seven spaces apart from one another. One fish on the top. Simple triplets of red tiles on the bottom, on either side of the scroll. All symmetrical and in order, as Clement would prefer things.

I am grinning ear to ear with the results.  I have not completed the 'groutwork' between the 'tiles,' but it looks as I had hoped, and it has been a good night.