Małgorzata Pleśniak - ikony pisane - Decani
There comes a moment in life when we suddenly realise that every person we have met, everything that has happened to us and every path we have crossed had its purpose. They led us to the place in which we are now because it could not have been another way.

In a small village at the Carpathian foothills, far away from big city lights, in a remote place surrounded by nature my first works came to life. They were mainly abstract oil paintings and stained glass. This form of expression, no matter how much fun it was, did not always work for me.

My first encounter with the icon surprised me a lot. Travelling to the opposite end of Poland I wondered what can be so exceptional in copying a painting. Returning home I already knew that I unexpectedly entered the path of the deepest spiritual experience, and the icon would become a very important tool in my life.

Paintings and icons

Painted by the soul
Ikona ręcznie pisana

How an icon comes to life

- -

The creation of a canonical icon is a complicated process which often takes up to several weeks. Every icon from my workshop is painted on a linden panel covered with levkas (rabbit skin glue, canvas, Champagne chalk). I use the ages-old Byzantine technique, applying egg tempera, powdered pigments and 23- or 24-carat gold.

My works – icons

My works – paintings