Introduction

The Conestoga Iconographic Studio exists to embody an sacred theology of the land through making sacred art. It is based on a vision that begins and ends with Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God, and He created the whole world in the beginning. He was also miraculously born of a virgin named Mary. At his conception, heaven and earth came together, and the entire material world became enlivened by God’s Spirit. Every place now has the potential to be a beautiful revelation, inviting the experience of God.

Sacred icons are images of Christ and his saints through which we experience the Kingdom of God. As such, a holy icon is sacramental—bestowing to us the real presence of holiness. Through the studio’s work making traditional icons in the village of Conestoga (Canada) the local land is used to convey a spiritual vision.

Everything needed for this work is foraged in a faithful knowing of the local landscape. Trees are harvested with thanksgiving to build its wooden panel. Dirt and plants are received as a gift to make pigments for colour. The farming of chickens and bees is done with love and provides its paint and varnish. In everything it does, the studio seeks to witness and share the local land as an image of hope through its work and its art.

Icons traditionally reveal the world as radiant with the light of its Creator within an ancient cultural context. But, in this village (like much of the West) a vision of the world full of glory is undeveloped. The studio’s iconographic style aims to render in local colour and culture the transfigured state of the world. Lines are bold and calligraphic. Colour is frank and contrasted like a puzzle while clothing is abstracted towards simple geometry. The studio’s icons embrace a simple buoyancy and a type of joyful play that reveals the Kingdom of God in this place and to this community.

The studio labours as a small family business. While every icon is painted by Symeon, each of the children are responsible for daily chores that keep the studio going. Annual events, like harvesting lumber and foraging for pigments, are often day-long events that bring satisfaction and joys to the whole family. Each icon is also the result of a broader community that supports its efforts. A wide variety of priests and deacons, iconographers and artists, academics, scientists and rock-hounds, all aid in the studio’s work.

Day by day, the work continues in the faith that God provides everything needful. The resulting icons show the world through the eyes of the spirit to a new community, embodying an approached to work that blesses the labourer and seeks God’s blessing in every place.