The great gift - the Holy Family icon itself

26th September 2017

Dearest friends of mum and dad,

As promised, here are some more detailed photographs of the icon.  Many of you who saw the icon on the day of the party asked for photos, but these are also for those who sadly couldn't join us on the day.  We will also post them on the website. 

The day was so remarkable and so precious.  Mum and Dad were bowled over by it all - by the presence and love and generosity of those who are dear to them.  Thank you, all, for making it what it was.

Mum, Dad, and the three of us were so deeply touched by the letters, emails and other messages we received in the weeks following the party - and are still receiving.  We are just so grateful for the gift that you all are to mum and dad, and to us.

With all our love,
the daughters Grey

p.s. the photo of the Grey's and dear Claire above, taken on our arrival back at the Cottage after church, was taken by the great Nigel Winser. Many many thanks to him. The photo of the icon installed in its home in the Library is taken by Dad, and all the others by Martin.

18th August - rooted in love

18^th August

Dearest all,

We have received our final donation and have reached the amazing sum of £4500. 

We couldn't be more grateful for your generosity.  It's been a joy to make this gift happen for mum and dad as a symbol and sign of the love and esteem of us all.  Thank you.  

To give you the final break-down: £3500 is the cost of making the icon itself.  Added to this is £200, the price of the 4 hand-made silver hinges for the doors - which we hope you will agree are beautiful.  The remainder, a sum of £800, is going to the two charities: the Pathshala photography institute (http://pathshalainstitute.org) and the Rosemary Foundation hospice (https://www.rosemary-foundation.org.uk).

The icon is now finished at last, but only just (as of last night) so rather than post photos at this stage, it makes more sense for you to hang on for the real thing tomorrow.  We think Mum and Dad are still unaware of all this, so please keep stum until the icon is given to them after the meal and speeches. We are so excited to see you tomorrow - and we hope you are as thrilled with the gift as we are.  (For those who aren't coming to the party, we will post photos on the website after the party.)

With much love and anticipation,

the daughters Grey

15th July - Icon board gessoed and gilded

15th July

Dearest All,

After so much enthusiasm about the last set of photos, we thought we'd send through a few more. 

The first shows the board with the linen cloth glued on to it. 

The second is the first layer of gesso (finely ground chalk and rabbit skin glue). Gessoing takes about 12 hours even for something this small - it needs 12-15 layers!
The third shows it fully gessoed but not sanded.

The fourth shows is the board fully sanded. The sanding for this piece took Martin three whole days with numerous different grades of sanding! This is especially important for gilding as the gold requires a very smooth surface. 

The fifth photo shows the icon with 10 layers of 'bole' - the under-layer for the gilding. The red brings out a lovely warmth under the gold.

The sixth photo shows the icon after gilding with 23ct gold leaf. It will then be very highly polished with the implements on the left.

More photos will come as soon as we have them.

Thank you so much again for joining us in making this amazing gift happen.

Much much love to you all

2nd July First photos of the icon board as raw wood

2^nd July 2017

Dearest all,

You will shortly receive an email asking you *not* to give Mum and Dad presents at the party.  Mum insisted that we send it, which is a rather good sign as it suggests (amazingly) they really don't know anything about our secret plans for the icon present!

So please ignore the message...(and do continue to feel free to give them your own gift if you want to!).

Attached are a few photos of the icon board before it is gessoed (a rabbit-skin and chalk glue which is the fine plaster onto which the egg tempera is painted).  

Icons look rather unimpressive during their initial stages of design, but if we have any more decent photos to send you we will.  They will also be posted on the website.

With much love,

Carmody (representing the daughters Grey)

icon gift update - final opportunity to contribute

Dearest all,

6th March has now passed, and we are very happy to report an amazing total of £2630. 

A few people have told us they want to contribute to the gift but haven't been able to yet/haven't got around to it.  There is still time, though only another week or two. Please do let us know if you still plan to send something.

It has been so wonderful to witness so much enthusiastic generosity towards mum and dad - a precious testimony to how much they mean to us all. It's hard to imagine a greater gift they could receive than something that represents the love and generosity of so many dear friends.

Further updates will come soon.  Love till then.

p.s. A few internationals have asked for international banking details so here they are ...

Acc. Name.  Carmody T Grey
Acc. No.  17216434
IBAN: GB07 CPBK 0893 0017 2164 34
BIC: CPBK GB22
Bank Name:  The Cooperative Bank

Update: Amazing progress!

Dearest all,

We have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and generosity you have shown over the last few weeks.  The gifts have flooded in and we could not be more excited.  The current total stands at £1965 - thank you all so much.  

Actually we have been so excited about it, it's been very hard keeping mum and dad in the dark!  After so many wonderful exchanges with you all, we have to be very careful not to say anything suspicious about any of you!

As I mentioned before, Martin will need to start drawing up a design for the icon from around 5th March, so he can prioritise it among his other commissions in the next few months.  So if you are hoping to make a gift, please do let me know soonish.

With love and gratitude -

Carm 

 

the icon - and bank details

Dad in Papua New Guinea

Mum reading to Carm and Rose in Bali

Dearest friends of mum and dad,

We'll post updates of Martin's work here, and we'll include the final design of the icon once we know the sum Martin has to work with. The cost of a simple and beautiful icon of reasonable size is £2,500.  If we raise a higher sum a more ambitious design would be possible, which we are really excited about too.  We'll also post updates of the sum raised.  (Surplus will be divided between Macmillan and Pathshala as mentioned in our original message.)

The easiest way of making a contribution is electronically - details below - or if you prefer you can send a cheque.  Please make it out to 'Carmody Grey', as the account is in my name.  (Please write to me at the cottage address, and label your envelope 'CONFIDENTIAL' or something similar!: Carmody Grey, Hampshire Cottage, South Harting, Petersfield, HANTS, GU31 5LP.) We decided not to use a crowdfunding account because they charge such a hefty fee.

Account Number:  11158527
Sort Code:  08-91-04
Account Name:  Carmody T Grey

With much love,

Carm

 
Martin and his icons ...

Martin has been creating sacred art for the last four years.  He is an accomplished iconographer who produces icons using the traditional methods.  

In the Christian tradition, icons are visual theology.  

They proclaim the incarnation: the invisible has become visible, spirit has become matter, the Word has become flesh.
 

Martin in the studio

A stone carving of the Mother of God
commissioned by a couple in the 
USA last year (approx 3ft high)

An icon of Christ the Gardener Martin 
painted last year, now in a private 
collection in New Orleans