St. John the Baptist Icon

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

Quality prints of this icon may be had at my redbubble.com. 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?

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

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"

The Archtypes

The Blue Staircase

Anatomy of a Dream