St. Paraskeva Icon Studio

The Visitation is Finished

2010-04-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

The Visitation Icon is Finished! In this photo, the gold has been added, the border lines, the halo rings, and the stars on Mary's robe. I did innumerable little touch ups here and there, and now it awaits being varnished. It will look the same but much more vibrant after being varnished. Then it will get blessed, and added to our prayer space at home.

What a fruitful 5 days!!

I really must thank my kids for all the help in keeping the house running. Everyone did school, everyone ate real food three times a day, got a full nights sleep, kept the house cleaned up and the laundry mostly cleaned.

This icon is from the book of Luke 1:39-56, when Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Upon seeing Mary, Elizabeth cries out, "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. "

Mary responds with these words, known as the Magnificat:

My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. 51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. 53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. 54 He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; 55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

Remember, you can click on the photo to get a larger view.

Icon Workshop Update - The Visitation

2010-04-13T20:54:00.001-07:00

The Pattern traced on the prepared board
The base colors for the figures of Mary and Elizabeth. This is about 6-10 layers of paint for each color.
Beginning the robe work for Elizabeth's under-robe

Mary's under-robe, and beginning work on the buildings

Elizabeth's outer-robe and more work on the buildings
Mary's outer-robe
Mary's outer-robe with highlights.

There is still quite a bit of final robe work to do, but the structure is all there now. Tomorrow we will work on the buildings, then the faces, then the fine tuning of the robes.

After that will come the lettering, the border, and finally the varnish.

I think I have made lots of progress for about 12 hours of work so far. I am delighted to be doing this again!!

Click on the photos for a closer look!

A December update

2008-12-02T09:46:00.000-08:00

Here is a finished icon that one of my workshop participants finishes. Our Lady of Perpetual Help

Another icon workshop participant's work. This one is called "Christ the High Priest"

A different style for me, I am working on this "Visitation". I am having trouble with the itty bitty baby St. John the Baptist and Jesus faces. I am still working on it, but like it so far.

And this is one I did on glass. I am going to have it framed and give it to my husband's grandma for Christmas. I hope to do more of these.

Late June

2008-07-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

These images were taken in late June. You can see the progress in them from the last post. I have taken the month of July off, so there will be no more progress until August. I will be having another teen workshop the second week of August, so there will be more updates then. Enjoy!

Early June

2008-07-14T13:14:00.000-07:00

These images were taken in early June. I will be posting pictures from late June in the next post. We have Christ the Good Shepherd, St. Francis, St. George, and the Samaritan woman at the well. Enjoy!

Update for 5-15-08

2008-05-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

The Nativity icon is finished! This is a case where the student far outdid the teacher. I hesitate to even call myself the teacher on this one, but maybe the color picker outer? Anyway, it is beautiful, isn't it?

And this is the progress I made tonight on the Samaritan Woman at the well icon. I began the mountains. I also did finish the Manylion icon, by touching up a few things and lettering the halo. As soon as it is varnished, I'll take a picture. I have a few more icons to post next week, a St. George that has just been started, and a St. Michael that is on the beginning of the face. Until then...

Same pattern, different iconographers

2008-04-23T07:37:00.000-07:00

These are four different Mandylion icons from the last workshop. Isn't the immensity of God amazing!

Some icons from the latest workshop

2008-04-22T06:17:00.000-07:00

Update from this week

2008-03-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

The first photo is the current Nativity, with more robes complete, the border, and now she is working on the itty bitty faces. The back ground will be gold leaved, and I am so anxious to see the finished product!

The second photo is a bad picture of a lovely icon in progress. This is the Nursing Mother of God, and the robe work is very intricate. I'll try to get a better picture of it next time.

The next two photos are of Christ the Teacher, without and with the gold leaf. She has some cleaning up and a few details to do, then she will be finished.

The last picture is The Good Shepherd, just beginning the face. This is a lovely and vibrant icon.

Update for last week and this week.

2008-03-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

The first photo is of a finished, yet unvarnished icon of The Holy Prophet Elias. He still needs a halo ring as well, but other than that, he is finished.

The second photo is of the Nativity. This is from last week, and I'll post an updated photo in the next post. This is a very detailed and intricate icon, and I am in awe of its beauty.

The third and fourth photos are from a beginner, and the faces are in progress. Can you believe this is her very first icon?

The last picture is the face of Christ the Teacher, a detail from an icon I will post in full next post. We had just finished this face at the end of class this week, and put in the gold leaf.

Oops!

2008-02-29T13:45:00.000-08:00

I just realized I had restricted commenting on this blog. It is fixed now, so if you have questions or comments, it should work for everyone now. Sorry about that!

Finally, the promised pictures

2008-02-27T20:34:00.000-08:00

The first picture is the Nativity, in progress. The mountains are beautiful, aren't they?

The second picture is of Christ the Teacher. The face is about half way finished. It as if the image is rising from a still body of water. Breathtaking process, really.

The third picture is of Christ the Good Shepherd. Aren't the robes vibrant? And this icon is the first one for this student.

The fourth photo is the icon I am working on. Any guesses yet what this icon depicts? No fair answering if you are in the class ;)

The fifth picture is The Nursing Mother of God. The robe work is just begun, and coming along very nicely.

And the last icon is also a first for this student. It is Tender Kissing, and again, the robe work is coming along beautifully.

Due to bad weather, the class has been a little slow, but we'll just keep going once a week until we are finished.

Thanks for stopping by, and you can leave comments here if you wish.

(you can click on the pictures to get a better look)

Week Four

2008-02-14T14:21:00.000-08:00

Here are some updated photos from last week. I thought I would get some up now and add more when I had time. The last picture is of my icon studio. I love that place!

More Week Two

2008-01-17T21:32:00.000-08:00

Another workshop participant working on The Good Shepherd.

And I just couldn't resist. Isn't my littlest just the cutest, evah! One of her usual outfits, and I just don't ever want to forget.

Week Two

2008-01-17T21:23:00.000-08:00

The first photo is of the PERFECT tin I found at the thrift store. It is from 1986, made in West Germany. I thought it was pretty, so I bought it and put all my paints in it. They couldn't fit more perfectly. God provides!

One of the more advanced students is doing an icon of the Holy Prophet Elijah (Elias). She will probably finish two icons in the time this workshop meets.

The next picture is one of the Nursing Mother of God. The base colors are almost complete, except for the background, border, and hair.

I was able to begin an icon today. Any guesses what the pattern is? I'll fill you in next week.

Week One

2008-01-17T21:08:00.000-08:00

This process begins with a completely blank board ~ the nothingness before Creation.
We proceed to a traced image, made without innovation or deviation. The icon teaches the Truth, and therefore must be reproduced with as much care as Sacred Scripture.
Once the pattern is on the board, the base colors are put down. The order is beginning to take shape out of chaos, but is still simple, basic, and grossly divided into areas.
We use watered down acrylic paint, to make translucent layers that are overlapped until the colors become opaque. Both week one and week two have been working on these steps. Next week I think some students will be beginning robe work. Stay tuned.

Prepare yourselves!

2008-01-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

I am going to begin chronicling a weekly icon workshop I am running. I will using words and pictures, and will be updating this weekly. First installment, tomorrow.

See you then!

The penultimate day!

2007-06-29T20:45:00.000-07:00

Three Christ the Teachers. Gold leafed and varnished. Whoo-hoo!
(Click on the photos for a closer view)

And the final product of our youngest iconographer. The face was a bit of a joint project between he and I, but, I think he did terrific, and it is a beautiful icon.

This one is almost finished. I have already finished the halo lines since I took this photo. Can you read the book? Christ the Teacher icons have the book open, with His own words present. The kids all picked their own verses, as long as they were Christ's words. I am so impressed with what they chose!

This one will be finished tomorrow. Since I took this photo I finished the halo lines and border. Thanks for the prayers, everyone, they really helped.

2007-06-28T14:25:00.000-07:00

Our youngest iconographer's progress

Mary's face is begun

Finished except the halo

Gold leaf on

A very manly Jesus

Please say some extra prayers for me as I have to apply all the halo rings with a compass and I am having real trouble with the compass. My practice did not inspire cofidence to me and I have to do it tomorrow. So , please, pray!

2007-06-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

A 12 year old working on Jesus' face.

Another face of Jesus in an earlier stage

This one is waiting for the gold leaf size to dry. It is interesting to note that this student is Chinese, and I think there is an Asian look to Jesus' face.

One of the younger students working on robes

Our youngest students icon (he is 10). He has just begun the face, and I will be assisting him with the shading after this break.

This is one of my more particular students. He is moving slowly, but doing a beautiful job!

Day three photos

2007-06-26T18:04:00.001-07:00

Okay, now it is getting more difficult. The robes are getting finished, and the faces are beginning.

This is what Jesus looks like without a beard:

A face first emerging:

Same pattern, very different icons:

More robe work:

Day three begins

2007-06-26T09:05:00.001-07:00

Day three begins with my usual one third the way freak out. I always hit this at the time that the robes and faces are begun, and nothing quite looks as was expected. This is the time the reality and the ideal clash, and God works on softening up the hearts of the painters to hear Him instead of themselves. It's downright painful at times, but so worth it on the other side. Photos to follow this afternoon.

Day 2 Redux

2007-06-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

Day 2 ~ The students made good progress today. The spirital lessons learned today were 1)be patient 2)don't compare your gifts to other people's gifts 3)take your time with yourself, and do not expect more out of yourself than God does 4)listen to your teacher. If you didn't need a teacher, you wouldn't be in the class.

We have a few students making very quick progress. Most are ready for robe lines now. A few are just now choosing their background and border colors. You can see who is decisive and who decisions cause great anxiety. Writing icons teaches the decisive ones to slow down and consider their options, and the axious ones to go ahead and decide, and learn to live with the decisions.

Tonight we are doing a belated St. John the Baptist bon-fire. See you tomorrow

Day 1 Redux

2007-06-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

Photos of the progress of day one. I'll take more pictures today (day 2) and post them tonight.

Day 1

2007-06-24T06:45:00.000-07:00

The first day went well. There is quite a difference between the nearly 11 year old and the 15 year olds in their motor control, but their concentration, intensity and passion are the same. The class was focused, polite, excited and at times, overwhelmed with the large task at hand. Many of the students got most of the base colors put in. Today we are choosing background colors and border colors. I was not surprised that these kids want to go slightly more bold with those colors (one of the few things that the iconographers can choose) than the adult classes I have helped teach. I do have some nice pictures from yesterday, and I will post them this afternoon. All in all, a good beginning, but as always when an icon is begun, it is daunting how long we have to go.

St. Paraskeva and the studio

2007-06-23T06:43:00.000-07:00

My Welcome Letter

2007-06-23T06:24:00.000-07:00

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.

Welcome!

2007-06-22T11:21:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my icon workshop blog! Rather than clog up my other blog, crazyacres, with my workshop progress, I'll be posting updates, information and photos here. Tomorrow marks the first day of my first workshop. I have decided to ask St. Paraskeva to be my patron as she came to me in a beautiful icon and has offered me much inspiration regarding this goal of beginning an icon class. St. Paraskeva is a patron of women artisans, usually in the textile field, as well as domestic tranquility. I have also asked for the prayers of St. Photini, otherwise known as the Samaritan woman at the well. I ask her prayers that I may be as transformed by Christ as she was.

So, check in here if you are interested in the progress of my students. I will have 13 students begining tomorrow. They range in age from 11 - 16, with one mom also attending. Next post, how I turned my basement into an icon studio ~~