Stations of the Cross
Client: St. Pius X Catholic Church
Cedar Rapids, IA, United States
Project: Set of fourteen icons for the stations of the cross to be installed in the nave of the church. Used primarily for processions on Fridays during Holy Lent.
Design of Boards
The icon boards are made of 3/4 in furniture-grade plywood. Plywood was chosen as the appropriate material due to the size of the boards. Other options like solid wood normally expand and warp over time, compromising the gesso and cracking it. This in consequence would damage the egg tempera pigments applied on top.
Board Preparation
After the the boards were cut to size and the appropriate shape, strips of thinner plywood were glued to the borders to form the frame. This protects the central painted part when icons are stacked.
The boards were sanded smooth, and several coats of real gesso (rabbit skin glue mixed with marble dust) were applied to the central part, and acrylic gesso to the borders and frame, where acrylic paint will be applied.
Finally, the boards were carefully sanded down, and the gesso becomes marble-smooth to the touch.
Cutting the boards to size using a miter saw at the College of Saint Joseph the Worker
The initial rectangular boards were cut to the appropriate shape using a miter saw
Thinner plywood strips are glued to the border as frame
Pressing the glued strips and letting them dry
Wood panels ready for sanding
Sanding the borders of the boards, and removing the wood filler
Sanding boards
Applying several coats of gesso to the wooden boards
View of the studio with the boards drying during the gesso application
Unsanded gesso versus sanded gesso
Finalizing the board preparation with a rotational sander. Tons of dust!
Sanding gessoed panels.