The icon-painting studio of St. Elisabeth Convent was established in 1999. At present, it employs 25 monastics and laity.
The icon-painters follow in the footsteps of Byzantine and Russian artists of the XII-XV centuries and use ancient icon painting techniques. Icons are painted on thoroughly dried wooden planks covered with a coat of natural materials, called gesso. The gesso is covered with high-quality gold leaf. The paints, such as mountain green, mountain blue, red ochre, cinnabar, celadon green, and blue ochre, are prepared from ground minerals. The minerals are crashed and ground. Egg yolk is added to the mixture as an adhesive. For this reason, the paint is also called egg yolk tempera. Every iconographer strives to make an icon aesthetically attractive, and also to convey its spiritual aspect.
The icon-painting studio accepts orders for family, marriage, name and church icons, and for duplicates.
