Matthias Nancy

Article by Cheryl Brink
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June 12, 2012

Nancy Matthias, a member of Trinity Anglican Church, has been making icons for the last 20 years .

CORNWALL - As if they were her children, Nancy Matthias is deeply attached to her artwork. But they aren't average paintings or photographs. Matthias has been creating icons for the last two decades, using centuries-old techniques to produce the images of religious figures.

"It's a spiritual practice.''' she said, adding that it's referred to as "writing" rather than painting, since iconographers believe they are essentially portraying scripture through their materials. "There's a language to the icons," she explained. "When. you can learn the language you can read an icon like you're reading the page of a book.''

Matthias, a retired Lutheran minister who has attended Cornwall's Trinity Anglican Church for the last several years, said she first learned of the intricacies of icon making when she attended a workshop. She just hoped to refocus and de-stress from the pressures of her job, but found herself captivated by the study. "I found it very gripping.'' she said ..

It's been 20 years since Matthias made her first icon, and now she has roughly 40 pieces - each taking a minimum of 30 hours to complete. The process starts with a piece of wood, which is then covered with linen, a white mixture of chalk and marble dust, engravings, and gold dust - all before paint is applied. She has used a wide variety of materials, from oil to vodka, white colouring and finishing the icons.

Matthias has now begun teaching others to create the rather complicated icons, but she still remembers her first major lesson. She made a mistake fairly quickly after starting out, and began trying to clean up the spill, even though the instructor had assured her that additional layers would cover up imperfections. She said her efforts only made it worse.

"It's like in life, you can't go back and fix things," she said, adding that it was quite a revelation. "I've been doing this my whole life.'' added Matthias. "Instead of letting go, I try to go back and fix things.''

She now knows what not to do when she slips up, and finds the creative process relaxing. She added that the subject of each icon seems to call to her as she browses other iconographers' work for inspiration. Matthias plans to host a workshop to create icons at the church ; anyone interested in participating is asked to email nancy@riyerrespite.com.