Doylestown artist Sharon Shaw will give a talk about religious icons, their history, symbolism, and her process of creating them using historical methods and materials at 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at St. Mary’s Hall, 209 E. State St., Doylestown.
She has painted and studied art for most of her life, at schools including The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Barnstone Studios, and the Prosopon School of Iconography. The presentation is part of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church’s Art + Faith program.
Although icons are painted works of art, the process is called “writing” because an icon is considered a holy symbolic language. Shaw has been writing icons for 20 years, and before that she painted in oils. “Art is a lifelong journey for me, and I paint the world I live in,” she said.
For Shaw, icon writing is a form of prayer and meditation. Icons are done in a specific sequence of steps, which gives them their recognizable look. Contemplation is seeing the essence of things, and while contemplating the icon it gives focus for the direction of the next step or color application. “Icons depict the presence of God; icons unite the visible with the invisible; icons unite art with religion. They let us depict the divine, with man as a symbol of God’s presence on earth,” she explained.
Shaw also paints landscapes and portraits in oil, both from life and photographs. She loves nature and living with nature, and she continues to produce commissioned icons and oil paintings as well as selling paintings through private collectors. For information, visit Sharon Shaw Art online and IG@shawluckart.
St. Mary’s Hall is located just behind the Sisters of St. Francis Convent on East State Street. There is ample parking in the large parking lot of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, which is entered from Maple Avenue. There is no admission fee but a goodwill offering is requested. For information, call 215-348-4837.
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