Art by Raber

Bishop Baraga, Bishop Romero and St. Martha Icons

2012-01-12T08:53:00.000-08:00

I recently added three new icons at redbubble.com, where they are available as fine art prints (framed or unframed) and note cards. Contact me about ordering multiple copies, buying original art works, and special commissions (raberdavid@yahoo.com).

Bishop Baraga Icon

2011-11-08T06:49:00.000-08:00

Here's a snapshot of my latest icon--Bishop Frederic Baraga, first bishop of the Diocese of Marquette, MI (mid-19th century),popularly known as the Snowshoe Priest because of his frequent use of said item in his tireless journeys around the UP and northern LP of Michigan, visiting parishes churches and mission sites. Prints of this picture are now available at my RedBubble website.

Icon of Archbishop Oscar Romero

2011-06-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

A snapshot of my latest icon as it hangs on the wall at the Shiawasse Arts Council gallery in Owosso, MI, where I have an exhibit right now. Romero gave his life for his people and for the cause of Christ in this world. He died a victim of poltics, killed by those who considered him a poltical enemy, but he himself was no creaturee of politics, simply a follower of Christ.

The subject of my next icon will be Bishop Baraga, the "Snowshoe Priest," first bishop of the diocese of Marquette, MI, and an indefatigable worker for Christ--to mention only one of his virtues.

Icon of St. Maximilian Kolbe

2011-06-20T18:32:00.000-07:00

Polish priest Maximilian Kolbe stands before the gates of Auschwitz, where he gave his life to save another. The border is made up of wildflowers native to Poland. The secondary halo around the figure is rimmed with white and red crowns--referring to a vision Maximilian had as a youngster (check out the story).

Icon of. St. Maximilian Kolbe

2011-02-28T04:47:00.000-08:00

Check back for an image soon; upload glitch right now!

Buy Prints on RedBubble

2011-02-18T20:44:00.000-08:00

I have recently made prints of a number of my works available on RedBubble (see widget to the right). Prints and posters are available in different sizes and formats, framed and unframed. All of my icons will soon be available on this site. Contact me by email for orders of multiple prints, note cards, and special orders.

Pictured above is a detail from my St. Therese icon.

St. Maximilian Kolbe Icon

2011-01-15T05:43:00.001-08:00

Here is a photo of my latest icon. Maximilian Kolbe was a prominent Polish Catholic priest imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz, where he was killed after offering his life in place of another prisoner who had been chosen to die. The border is made up of wildflowers native to Poland, plus red roses referring to Kolbe's devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The saint is shown before the infamous gate to Auschwitz. For an explanation of the white and red crowns around the larger halo, check out Kolbe's life story.

Our Lady of Revelation Icon

2010-09-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

Heree's a preliminary photo of my latest icon, Our Lady of Revelation (I'm still deciding between that title and the one given in my previous post). See my previous post for comments on this one.

I feel that I am getting more and more into the possibilities of this working formula I have settled into for my icons: Traditional images and symbols and art conventions used in a free way, treated in bright colors that do not necessarily harmonize into any sort of placid "composition."

The point is to make the whole picture as joyous, arresting, and alive as the life of the saint portrayed.

Icon in the Works: Our Lady of the Apocalypse

2010-07-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

The book of Revelation (Ch. 12) includes a fantastical vision of "a woman clothed like the sun"--the Virgin Mary. For a while I have been working with ideas aimed at representing as fully as possible this vision as it unfolds--including the seven-headed beast, the baby Jesus being born, stars falling from the sky, etc.

I may still do a work based on this plan, but the one I actually started working on recently is a simple depiction of Mary standing "clothed like the sun," and with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars, as described in Revelation. This general depiction may be common; I remember seeing at least two examples of it in Western art of around 1500.

As a Catholic convert from a Protestant denomination, I have had some difficulty "connecting" with Mary as a saint--as the saint of saints, and even more than this, for Catholics and Orthodox believers.. I do pray the rosary, however, at times, and I trust I will get to know and understand Mary the Mother of God better and better through this practice and maybe also through making this icon.

The picture should be done in a month or so, and will appear here shortly after that.

Art Exhibit at Shiawasse Arts Center, June 2011

2010-07-06T07:11:00.000-07:00

I just got word from the Shiawasse Arts Council (Owosso, MI) that my work has been chosen for an exhibit next summer. The exhibit will include about ten of my Catholic icons (the whole lot of them, that is) plus other work yet to be determined.

I may be the only artist in the world making religious icons with cut paper (and additions in paint and ink). The medium is not traditional, nor is my own way of putting together various traditional elements, but I do see myself working in this long tradition of Byzantine or orthodox icons, at the same time not neglecting aspects of Western traditions in religious art.

If all this sounds very pretentious, as if my work is the product of long hours of serious study in art history--it's not so. While all of the above is true, and I say it to give some context to my work, what I mainly do is make the work based on inspiration and some rudimentary thinking, grounded in my faith and my more-or-less "naive" appreciation of traditional art.

Note: That picture of there is John the Evangelist from the Lindisfarne Gospels. It has nothing to do with the subject of this post, but I like it, and I do hate to put up a post without a picture; I hope you like it too.

Icon of Pope John XXIII

2010-05-26T20:18:00.000-07:00

Pope John, known as "the Good Pope," has not yet been officially declared a saint by the Church, but he is recognized as such in the hearts of millions of Catholics and others around the world.

Pope John was a loving and beloved pastor of his people, a humble "servant of the servants of God," and at the same time a bold leader of the worldwide Catholic Church, with the vision to initiate the Second Vatican Council as a means of reforming the Church of Jesus Christ to speak to and serve the world in the modern era.

This picture made of cut paper and mixed media fits the form I have used for my most recent icons, including these main items: bold colors and textures using layered paper parts along with highlights in paint and ink; a floral patterned border; an architectural frame around the figure, following a common motif in early Christian art; and a focus on the figure of the saint--a sine qua non of an icon--along with certain details and symbols relevant to the life and meaning of the saint.

My icons do not look like some of the most well-known icons of the Eastern Church, which are more subdued in coloration, less elaborated, and in a very distinctive traditional style. On the other hand, my icons do have affinities with some Coptic icons and Mexican religious art, and they are definitely traditional in the most important sense: intended not merely as art to be appreciated but primarily as "windows to heaven," or "sacramentals" in the traditional Catholic sense, to be used for spiritual purposes--in prayer, contemplation, meditation.

Prints of all my icons are available for sale at http://www.artbyraber.etsy.com/.

St. Hilda of Whitby Icon

2010-04-26T05:38:00.001-07:00

This is my latest completed icon of cut paper and mixed media, an image of St. Hilda of Whitby. She lived around the year 700 in the north of Anglo-Saxon England. Hilda was of noble lineage and rose to become one of those powerful women in the Church of her time and place. She was the abbess of a double house monastery, i.e. one housing both men and women, in a era in England and Ireland when the power and influence of abbots and abbesses was on a par with that of bishops (hence the crosier held by Hilda, normally an appurtenance of bishops, but in her case a more generalized sign of leadership and authority).

The building Hilda cradles in arm represents her founding of the monastery at Whitby (the original version of which is now long gone). The five bishop's miters pictured indicate that five men of her house were elevated to that rank. The geese, I am told, represent the Holy Spirit in the "Celtic spirituality" movement of our own day (so what's a little anachronism between friends?).

I have made Hilda younger and perkier-looking than perhaps she might be expected to be portrayed as a serious Christian woman of substance and authority. I don't know what to say about that further, except that however this has turned out, I hope it has been ultimately shaped by the Holy Spirit working through me.

The border around the main image is my version of a Celtic vine motif, and the details of the architectural frame are my nod to characteristics of Anglo-Saxon architecture.

I have almost completed my next icon, an image of Pope John XXIII, which I should have up here in a few days.

St. Hilda of Whitby

2010-02-06T06:08:00.000-08:00

I have finished an icon of St. Hilda, one of those powerful women of the English church c. 700. I believe she was there with me in the making of it--making her cuter than she probably was in real life, for one thing!

Stay tuned for the image coming up here in a few days.

St. Therese of Lisieux Icon, Again

2010-02-06T05:52:00.001-08:00

This is the second icon I made of cut paper, some time ago--worth considering again. I've moved on to a different sort of standard format, but have thought lately that I might go back to this type sometime. My model was some "headshots" of women saints in a Byzantine Church. As I recall, these were in a border, or at least not the main attraction on the wall where they appeared.

The focus on the face, as opposed to a full figure, makes for a more personal focus, and perhaps for a more arresting image, and maybe in some way a closer connection with the saint.

Reception Desk on a Budget

2010-02-02T10:45:00.000-08:00

I designed and built this new reception desk/cashier station for an art gallery and shop in Owosso, Michigan. The budget was not huge, so the choice was made to use economical materials (poplar and birch plywood). Fortunately the wood stain chosen for the piece, a translucent acrylic color stain, is a type of stain that evens out color variations in the wood while allowing much of the interesting grain patterns to show through.

Not shown are the many functional features behind the desk, providing for a cash drawer, filing cabinets, and shelf and drawer storage for office supplies and gift wrapping materials.

And by the way, if you happen to be in the Owosso area, be sure to stop by the Shiawassee Arts Council, an exceptional public arts center with a long and distinguished history of promoting the arts in the community and the surrounding area.

St. Francis Icon II

2009-11-09T06:50:00.000-08:00

This is an icon of St. Francis including the Wolf Of Gubbio by Francis' side and a depiction of the burning bush, signifying the Saint's teaching about God's creation.

Next in the series: An icon of St. Hilda, an important saint to Anglicans and English Catholics. She was one of the prominent English abesses of the seventh century. Hilda presided over a joint monastery of men and women, and her prestige and influence as a church leader in her time were like that of a bishop--hence she is often pictured with a crosier like that of a bishop. This icon will be a full-figure one set up a lot like this latest Francis icon, with some interesting differences.

Icon of St. Francis of Assisi with Christ Triumphant

2009-08-04T10:15:00.000-07:00

This is my latest icon in cut paper and mixed media, with Jesus Christ telling St. Francis, and all Christians as well, "Build my Church." There's a lot going on here from the St. Francis traditions, including the Wolf of Gubbio and the sun and the moon, plus some stuff generally related to St. Francis (various flora and fauna), plus a burning bush, a Biblical image that I don't think has been associated with S. Francis but certainly can be. The curious cat peeking around the corner of a pedestal, and looking straight at you, was drawn by my son John, age 13, who likes to do cartoons.

Does anyone take away a political meaning from the rainbow behind Jesus' head? If you are doing that, I'm not sure that you should be!

Buy a print at Etsy or contact me directly for one or more copies.

Next up: Look for a version of St. Francis solo (Jesus there in spirit only), maybe with a rainbow or maybe not, but certainly with the wolf and the cat and the blue bird and book of the gospels. Next after that, the Madonna as you have rarely seen her (see the book of Revelation, chapter 12).

Please leave a comment on the work you see here, if the spirit moves. I invite all input!

Christ Pantokrator Icon

2009-05-13T17:21:00.000-07:00

This is my latest icon in cut paper and mixed media, an image of Christ Pantokrator, a very old type of icon common to Byzantine churches, executed in mosaic, as well as in small panel icons (painted).

Included in the borders of this icon is a motif more Catholic than Orthodox, that of wheat and grapes (representing the bread and wine of the Eucharist).

Prints of this icon are available to buy at www.artbyraber.etsy.com.

One Day in Rome

2009-04-02T06:48:00.000-07:00

St. John the Baptist Icon

2008-11-21T06:01:00.001-08:00

Here's a pop quiz about my newest icon: Why are the architectural elements in there? What did this guy have to do with buildings (much less Gothic arches)? Submitted essays should be limited to 2,500 words or less!

The original of this icon, as usual for me, is made of cut paper and paint.

For you artists or art supply purveyors out there with experience in such technical matters, a question: What are the pluses and minuses of putting a varnish on a work of cut paper? I could use your input.

Mary Magdalen Icon

2008-11-20T16:35:00.000-08:00

Quality prints of this icon may be had at my Etsy shop. Reminder: Tomorrow is Mary Magdalen Day on the Roman Catholic calendar.

This is the first in a series, inspired by Byzantine mosaic and other traditional sources--not to speak of the lives of the saints themselves.

Is it Art?

2008-10-16T05:33:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel I am a hapless sort of bastard, wasting my time (for example) on using spare moments in the woodshop to turn out "magic wands" (something like the Harry Potter ones) on the lathe, then wasting more time on working over and working over what I hope to be scintillating paint schemes to finish them: working in a genre of art that does not exist--the magic wand. It's true there are some other artists making these things (check out Etsy), yet all of these people seem pretty much as hapless as I, doing something that is basically unrecognizable.

People know what to do with oil paintings and Hummel figurines and giant steel sculptures, but what does one do with a "magic wand" conceived of and made as fine art, a sculptural object, something meant to be "appreciated" like any other work of art?

A friend of mine who is a very good artist who does commercially successful work of the highest quality told me I need to make fancy display cases for these wands, and then they would sell. That's probably excellent advice, and I would enjoy making such things almost as much as the wands themselves--but there's the matter of making the time to do that, so meanwhile I just present the wands with the simple display option of a wood stand to hold them.

I have an online shop, Art by Raber, at Etsy, a great site where you can buy and sell all sorts of wonderful hand-made stuff such as jewelry, clothing, fine art, you name it. This wand and several other items are available for sale there.

St Therese of Lisieux Icon

2008-08-28T20:23:00.000-07:00

16" x 20", cut paper and mixed media.

This is the second in a series of icons I am now working on.

My inspiration is not the traditional orthodox icon, painted on a wood panel or canvas, but the stone and glass mosaics of Byzantine churches of centuries ago. While the painted icon tends to the staid and sober, the Byzantine mosaics on the whole are meant to dazzle worshipers with bold color and glittering gold highlights. In the broadest sense, which is also the most genuine sense, the mosaics are icons as well, sharing the same fundamental purpose as smaller painted works--the purpose of connecting the viewer to God.

High quality print versions of my icons, as well as other works of mine, are available for sale at the Etsy website.

Magic Wand "Rosinas"

2008-08-28T17:04:00.000-07:00

The Archtypes

2008-08-28T16:54:00.000-07:00

The Blue Staircase

2008-08-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

Anatomy of a Dream

2008-08-28T16:42:00.000-07:00