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

40th Wedding Anniversary present - secret!

Dearest beloved friends,

As some of you will already know, on 19th August 2017 there is to be a great celebration of Mum's and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary, to which you are excitedly invited.  You will receive more details of the party by post when formal invitations go out over the next few months.
 

Mum and Dad know about this party - but do NOT know about the following plan - so please keep it secret from them!
 

We have been giving a great deal of thought to conceiving the right idea for a present.  For so many people mum and dad are wellsprings of love, life, friendship and hospitality.  August's party will enable us all to get together in celebration and gratitude for everything they are and have been.  Conceived in a conversation around the campfire late on the night after Rose's amazing wedding in September, we would like to create the opportunity for everyone to contribute to a single gift that will express how precious they are to us all. 

Our hope, for which we have the great Bob McGarvey to thank, is to give them an icon of the Holy Family, to be painted by Martin Earle (Katherine's husband).  For those who might not know, this pictures Jesus, Mary and Joseph at home in Nazareth.  The traditional themes of this image are family, love, hospitality, and the uniting of diverse gifts and roles to create a joyful and rich community.  This would be significant to mum and dad for many reasons: faith, fine craftsmanship, beauty, and the creation of a loving and welcoming home.  

Gin, an essential ingredient!

Handmade icons require considerable skill and time from an experienced craftsman, and will take Martin several months to complete.  A traditional icon is made with gold leaf, precious stones and minerals such as lapis lazuli and azurite, ground up and mixed with gin and egg yolk, and is set on a tulip-wood board which the iconographer makes from scratch.   £2500 is the low-end price of a hand-made icon of reasonable size with 3 - 5 figures.  Were more to be raised, we would be able commission a more ambitious piece which could comprise extra panels depicting further images, with doors painted on the inside and carved on the front.   

Azurite, gold leaf and an egg

To see examples of the sort of icon Martin would be producing, you can look at the website of Aidan Hart, a leading iconographer to whom Martin has been apprenticed over the past few years: http://aidanharticons.com/.  You can also look at Martin's own website, which is in development but does have some examples of his work to date: http://martinearleicons.com/.

If you feel able to join us in making this gift to mum and dad, you will be able to via an online giving portal.  The link for that will be sent out soon.  We hope to give Martin the go-ahead and the particulars soon, as he needs to plan his work commitments for the coming year. 

We hope you are all as excited about this gift as we are.  Should there be any excess left over, it will be divided between the two institutions which represent mum's and dad's concerns so well.  Mum has been a tireless volunteer for MacMillan Cancer Support as a bereavement counsellor for many years (https://www.macmillan.org.uk).  Dad has been an ardent advocate for the rights and opportunities of young Asian photojournalists, represented by the Bangladeshi college Path Shala (http://pathshalainstitute.org/).

Please do email with any questions.  In the meantime, this comes with all our fondest love to you all,

the daughters Grey