www.byzcath.org Forums Mysteries: The Life of Worship Icons & Iconography Wall-mounting an Icon

I have an icon which has no wall hook, so I had to innovate to hang it on the wall.

What I ended up doing was making corners for it and nailing those into the wall. Then, if they are positioned right, the icon will slip in place.

Rachel cut 2" square into some faux leather material we got from Wal-Mart. She then cut them diagonally and then faced the nice sides together and sewed the two sides off the 45 degree angle. After that all we had to do was flip it inside out and nail it to the wall.

Here are the results:

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

90 degree angle, that's what I mean. I wasn't thinking.

Terry:

Christ is Risen!! Indeed He is Risen!!

What I do is turn a wooden icon over on its face, preferably on a clean towel or sheet so it won't get scratched. Then take a drill--variable speed and put it on slow--and drill a hole into the back. Now I start straight and then lay the drill toward a 45 degree angle and drill toward what would be the top. I also put a piece of masking tape on my bit so I don't drill too deeply and go through the front. Then put a finishing nail into the wall at the same angle and the icon slides right into place.

I've done a lot of decoupaging of print icons on pieces of oak that I get from a furniture shop. By mounting them this way, they truly look like a window--a Window onto Heaven.

BOB

"Now I start straight and then lay the drill toward a 45 degree angle and drill toward what would be the top. I also put a piece of masking tape on my bit so I don't drill too deeply and go through the front."

I thought about doing just that, I'm comfortable with the drill and with presetting the depth with masking tape. But I didn't want to take the risk of damaging the icon, as slim as that risk may be.

How do you decoupage an icon? I have a gloss-paper icon which I would like to put somewhere.

Getting the oak is easy enough. Squaring it off, beveling the edges and applying a finish takes some elbow grease. But how do you put the paper on there while preserving the paper?

I would imagine that it would involve gluing it to the wood and putting layers of clear coat over it, but for some paper I would think that it could bubble up or discolor if you're careless.

Terry

Terry:

I buy 12 inch wide ends for about a buck apiece. It's one by twelve oak plank material. I don't worry about squaring them off; it makes them look older. I also love it when there is a little split in the edge that made the piece unsatisfactory for furniture. I bevel my edges with a file and leave some of the file marks for the same reason. I stain the oak with "golden oak stain" for an antique look. I use wallpaper paste to keep the print in place while putting on the finish. Note: the wallpaper paste will make it stick and needs to dry for a couple days before finishing: coat thinly. Oak is best for this because it has a porous grain that allows any excess moisture from the glue to soak in--it doesn't hurt the wood. Other woods I've used don't allow for the print to stick and I get air bubbles because the grain is tighter than oak. Then the finished icon looks lumpy.

I buy a resin set that has two components: resin and hardner in two bottles. You mix this stuff together for two minutes. It has a chemical reaction and will get hot to the touch so use a non-metal container.

You pour the stuff on and let it smooth itself out,using a disposible brush to take it over the edges to coat them. After it starts to set up it has what looks like a white color in the depths. These are air bubbles. Take a hairdryer, put it on low heat and pass it over the surface far enough away that it doesn't make the wet surface move. This causes the air bubbles to come to the surface and pop out.

The whole process, once it dries gives a tremendous depth to the whole project and once it dries it wears like iron. This stuff is good, too, in that, if you drop your icon and it gets a nick in the surface, you can put it in a warm oven and the stuff will soften and relevel itself. But in all things, you've got to be careful. I once saw a countertop that was sealed with this same material in a hobby shop and it's great stuff.

BOB

Bob,

Is there a specific name for the resin and hardner set?

Terry

TERRY:

Christ is Risen!! Indeed He is Risen!!

Yes, there is and I'll have to look in my basement when I get home. It's in most hobby shops--one bottle is clear and the other is amber.

Back to you later. Maybe I can find it online.

BOB

TERRY:

The product is called Enviro-tec. I'm not sure of the spelling but you can find it in various sizes in a hobby shop.

One caveat: the stuff hardens very quickly so it's best to mix just about enough to do the icon you are working on and don't count on having the rest be any good. It'll harden in the container you mix it in very quickly. Also don't mix it in a metal can because when it starts its chemical reaction it'll make the can hot to the touch. (I admit to making this mistake thought the warning on the bottles was there.)

I searched the internet for "decoupage" and there seem to be lots of products available. I don't know how any others work--some are just one liquid--so I can't recommend them. But I have worked with this product.

One more thing. If you use wallpaper paste to set your icon, make sure that it is the type made for vinyl paper. Ordinary wheat paste for older papers need to dry out through the paper and it'll cause air bubbles. Vinyl past is made to dry slowly and keep the moisture behind the paper. Also, make sure that it isn't too thick--a very thin layer on the back of the print will do the trick.
BOB

I'm going to call a local hardwood supplier and see if they have any scrap pieces I can look at and buy at a discount if they're workable.

If there are hardwoods that look good as is, I may use those. Would they have trouble bonding to the wallpaper paste?

Thank you Bob! You have helped a lot. I look forward to starting this project.

Terry

TERRY:

As I said, not all woods are alike. I tried walnut and poplar and they failed miserably: air bubbles were always the problem. The part that I learned is that the oak, being a coarser grain, allowed any excess moisture to soak in. Other, finer grains don't. Now please understand we're talking about very minute amounts of moisture, but the difference is between a professional looking icon mount and one with bubbles in the final product. I had a couple that I took to be blessed that I was giving for Christmas presents some years ago and the priest told me I should do this as a cottage industry. But I don't have the time or space to do large numbers.

I recommend you stick with oak, use a golden oak stain lightly for an antique look, trim any white edges off the pirnt, and go.

BOB

TERRY:

Forgot one step: use an old rolling pin or similar roller to squeeze the print down onto the wood. This will not only help to eliminate air bubbles but also squeeze excess glue out.

Then let the print glued onto the wood dry for a couple days to make sure that there is no excess moisture underneath when you come to put your decoupage finish onto the final piece.

BOB

Beautiful pictures, Terry.

Thanks for the information Bob. You are a jack of all trades.

EM:

One finds ways to obtain what he needs when he has little money but some skills learned from one's father. I spent a dollar on each print, a dollar on each piece of scrap oak, a couple dollars on the stain and decopage kit, and ended with a dozen sets of icons: Christ the Teacher and the Mother of God. They made great Christmas presents one year.

BOB

I recently hung an icon that was from Greece bought for me as a gift. It was made with a leather hook, and I am trusting it at this point to hold on to the nail device, but I fear that what if the nail wears through the leather little strap and it comes crashing down. I would feel so guilty. I am thinking of taking it down and mounting it some other way as I would feel so guilty if anything happened to it. But I think it will be okay as is for a while, and want to trust that he person who professionally painted and carved this would be smart enough to know and avoid any potential danger in the way it seems to be designed for mounting. So maybe I should just not worry about it? Or maybe I should but like a hook to install into the back at a hardware store.

Brian

Brian:

Christ is Risen!! Indeed He is Risen!!

What about those self-sticking hook mechanisms I saw advertised around Christmas? There's some kind of backing that attaches to the wall but leaves no mark since it's somehow suction involved. Then there's a hook that mounts onto it. The hook is wider than a nail so it may not wear on your leather loop.

BOB