Installing saints high above/Mosaic artist returns to Greek Orthodox icons
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Friday, April 22, 2005 (San Francisco Chronicle)
Installing saints high above/Mosaic artist returns to Greek Orthodox icons
Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer
The first thing one notices at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church is the
soaring, 100-foot ceiling, the soft, otherworldly blue-tinged light from
towering stained-glass windows, and the quiet. It's quiet in the way that
mountain glaciers are quiet.
But on a recent weekday, the silence was punctuated by the gentle tap-
tapping of a hammer, 50 feet off the ground, where artist Robert Andrews
was perched on scaffolding installing the latest addition to the church's
stunning mosaic icon collection, which he began 40 years ago.
"When Bob comes to Holy Trinity he sees old friends -- in person and on
the wall," said Father Michael Pappas.
Andrews, 79, a nationally known icon artist, flew from his home in
Pembroke, Mass., two weeks ago to continue his project at Holy Trinity,
the oldest Greek Orthodox congregation west of Chicago. He began making
icons for the church not long after it was built in the early 1960s, and
has been visiting periodically over the decades to add more of the
spectacular religious images.
Before he returned home, Andrews completed a 55-foot-tall, 300-square-
foot pillar to the right of the altar, adorning it with colorful
glass-tile images of Jesus blessing children, Jesus healing a hunchbacked
woman, two saints and two prophets.
When he's done, he will have completed more than 100 icons for the
church,
covering most of the walls of the main sanctuary, several pillars, the
lobby and a side room. He plans to return this summer to add icons to the
soffit area, and eventually he plans to do an image of Christ surrounded
by angels in heaven for the 3,000-square-foot dome, which is now black
from 40 years' worth of soot from candles and incense.
"The dome would be the crowning glory of my career, no question," said
Andrews, who has done icon work for 26 churches nationwide. The church is
now raising the $1.2 million needed to complete the dome, for which
Andrews has already done preliminary drawings.
The icons, made of small, irregularly-shaped pieces of colored glass
tile,
depict Orthodox saints and scenes from the Bible. They're valued both as
artwork and as symbols and teaching devices -- a way for parishioners to
enhance their prayers and as a means to beautify the church.
"The church is intended to be a type of kingdom of God on earth, and for
that reason it should be beautifully adorned," said Pappas. "How important
are the icons? I would say they're central. They engage us and remind us."
The pillar project was funded by parishioner George Marcus, a real estate
investor who wanted to honor the church's longtime pastor, the Rev.
Anthony Kosturos, who died in June.
"I love art and I loved Father Anthony, and I wanted to help complete the
mosaics," said Marcus, who has been a Holy Trinity member since childhood.
"I also wanted to give something back to the community I love."
Nearly all Greek Orthodox churches are adorned with icons, although most
are painted, not mosaics. With their bright, two-dimensional images, the
tile mosaics hark back to the ancient Byzantine churches. In fact, Andrews
studies the 1,000-year-old mosaics in Constantinople and Italy when
creating his own designs.
The method is ancient, as well. Andrews starts by making a full-sized
drawing, which he sends to a studio in Italy near Florence, that's been
making glass tiles for 400 years. The glass comes from a factory near
Venice, which has been in business since the 12th century.
The glass is unique for its rich, vibrant color (Andrews has a 5,000-
color palette to choose from) and the slight variations in texture, shade
and shape, which give the mosaics a shimmering, ethereal quality. If a
piece isn't textured enough, Andrews will give it a few quick swipes with
a hammer.
Andrews works closely with the artists in Italy, who translate his
drawings into mosaics by gluing the small glass squares directly on the
sketch paper. The mosaic is divided into pieces about a foot square and
mailed to the United States in crates.
At the church, Andrews pieces the sections together like a giant jigsaw
puzzle, using a meticulous numbering system. He covers portions of the
pillar with cement, carefully affixes the section on the pillar, and when
the cement dries he wets the paper and slowly peels it off. In 40 years of
creating mosaics, he's only messed up once, when a tile section dropped
off a scaffolding and shattered.
"I'm lucky. I have an excellent helper -- my son, Timothy," he said.
From the first sketch to the last cemented tile, it can take up to a year
to finish one pillar.
But for members of the congregation, the wait is worth it.
"When you go in the church, and see the icons, you know you're in a
spiritual place," said Constance Vrionis, whose family has belonged to the
church for three generations. Vrionis also has donated money to help
complete the next phase of the mosaics.
"All our senses are affected," she said. "It's the smell of the incense,
the sound of the chanting, the pictures of the saints. If you add all
those together -- wow."
Longtime members Nick and Stephanie Delis of Burlingame said they
remember
when Andrews first started working on the icons, and it's especially
gratifying to see the project evolve.
"When you see it grow like this, it almost makes you speechless," said
Nick Delis.
Although parishioners don't worship the icons themselves, the stylized
pictures are reminders of biblical teachings and the lives of the saints,
many of whom were martyrs.
"The pictures remind us that these saints were real people on this earth,
" said Stephanie Delis. "It brings you comfort, and helps the prayer
process."
Andrews, who is Greek Orthodox but doesn't consider himself especially
religious, got his start as a religious artist by praying with his
great-great- grandmother, who lived to be 106.
Inspired by her, he began doing religious drawings. He studied portrait
painting and ceramics at Massachusetts College of Art, and taught art for
36 years. In the early 1960s, he designed tile mosaic icons for his
hometown church in Dover, N.H., and was struck by how the project combined
his three passions -- religious depictions, portraits and ceramics. Now
he's one of only a few artists in the country who specialize in religious
icons of this sort.
Quiet and unassuming, Andrews said he starts each day with a prayer. The
continuing work at Holy Trinity has been an especially meaningful
experience for him.
"When I first come in here, I become quite emotional," he said. "It's a
wonderful experience. I come alive again. To be honest, I feel very
humbled that I had any part of it."
The Holy Trinity congregation, meanwhile, is thrilled that Andrews has
returned. They also hope that his work is viewed and appreciated by a wide
audience.
"This is a San Francisco cultural treasure that few people know about,
and
you shouldn't hide your treasures," Pappas said. "My hope and prayer is
that people come to see it. It should be a pilgrimage destination."
Take a look The public can view the icons at Holy Trinity Church at
service on 10:30 a.m. Sundays at 999 Brotherhood Way, San Francisco, or
tours can be arranged, (415) 584-4747.