My Welcome Letter

St. Paraskeva Icon Studio

Under the patronage of St. Paraskeva and St. Photini

Welcome to this icon writing workshop. We will be experiencing one of the most ancient ways of passing on our Holy Faith. This is an awesome responsibility.
It must not be taken on lightly, but with prayer, charity, and desire to know
Christ and His Mother. You will become the tool of Our Lord and His Mother, the Holy Theotokos during this week. You will be asked to show them to the world, to teach eternal truths and to provide a window into heaven for all those who venerate your completed icons.

There are a few tasks that must be taken up when we are about to write an icon.

First, we must begin with prayer. Second, we must treat our time with respect. We have no time to waste here. And thirdly, we must treat our fellow icon writers with the utmost care and respect. We are all working on growing Our Lord’s Kingdom here on earth together, and there will be no disrespect tolerated.

“Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph 4:29-32)

We will begin each day PROMPTLY at 9:00a.m., so please be in your seats ready to say our beginning prayer each day at that time.

We will have a 10 minute snack break at 10:30, and then break for one hour from
12-1 p.m. You should bring a sack lunch, and will be eating outside on the patio. Please take advantage of the great outdoors during our break, and run off any pent up energy. If the weather is bad, you can play down in our finished basement.

We will begin again promptly at 1:00 p.m. and continue until 4:00 p.m. There will be another 10 minute break at 2:30 p.m.

I would ask that we keep a holy silence during our class time. This does not mean complete silence, but please use a quiet voice that respects the concentration and efforts of our classmates.

I will be assigning your seating. I may change the arrangement from time to time to allow new friendships to form. Please understand that where you sit is up to me, your teacher. If you have concerns, please let me know.

I ask that you wear old clothes, so that you don’t ruin a good outfit by getting paint on it. I have aprons here, feel free to use them.

I am pleased to have you here, and look forward to assisting you in bringing your icon into existence.