St Nicholas Monastery in Zhydychyn

The brief

The monastery's main gate needed a sign with the monastery's coat of arms — a cross with the letter «Ж» — in stone that would stand for decades in rain and sun without painting or repair. The arms were to be a relief that reads from a distance, not a flat image.

How it was made

1. 
   01 · April

   Carving the coat of arms

   The arms were carved in relief from separate granite elements.

2. 
   02 · May

   Sign visualisation

   The layout was agreed: the arms in the centre, the monastery's name below.

3. 
   03 · June

   Assembly and painting

   Arms and lettering on a black polished slab; a monastery brother inspects the work in the workshop.

4. 
   04 · August

   Installation

   The slab was lifted and fixed on the brick gate pillar beneath the arch with the cross.