This year due to the pandemic classes were unfortunately interrupted. Please, all students that were in this year’s classes contact me for a studio visit and/or you are welcome to attend Icon Class 2021 at either St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church or the Basilica.
The 2020 Basilica Classes offered by Virtual Teaching:
This year we entered into the image “Mary Undoer of Knots.” It is an imagery based in part on a reflection by St. Iranaeus, that “Eve, by her disobedience, tied the knots of disgrace for the human race; where as Mary, by her obedience , undid the knots.”
The icon workshops are intended to teach students technique of Byzantine iconography along with the theology and spirituality of the image. The students learn composition, painting, color palette and methodology opf Byzantine style- obtained and applied in the contemporary medium of acrylic paint.
This year after the first class, we were forced to continue class as a virtual gathering. This style of learning presented challenges for as a painting class usually is taught in the demands of demonstration. Although, we did not allow this to be an obstacle in moving forward with class. Many tools are available on-line such as you tube videos and supplemental information Deb provided in the form of educational hand outs and files from previous classes.
The final outcome of the icon ultimately will be appreciated when students can resume a personal exchange and dialogue addressing areas on the icon that they yet feel frustrated with and need hands on direction. The class experience this year invited each and every student to rely more heavily on themself in the trust that icon painting is a journey; a pilgrimage journey moving from an earthly image to heavenly original. This type of pilgrimage is not exactly connected to travel as a passage of distance, but as, “being on the way” toward transformative sight. The students had to ponder deeper spiritual realities to justify their learning taking a different direction from what was expected including a time frame that was interrupted. Students were confined within the structure of their own discipline taking action to work on their icons, almost blindly, but more innocently…revealing, “The icon presenting a meeting place of two infinities, Divine Light and human spirit; coming into the journey naked and helpless as Christ came into the world of darkness as a bound up infant as illustrated in the Nativity icon. God, invisible in His nature, became visible in the flesh for man’s sake, and in a cave foreshadowing His death and burial. The black mouth of the cave representing the natural world stricken with sin. Christ’s birth shone forth the “Sun of Truth”. The coming of Christ brought new meaning to the whole of the created world. A world awaiting salvation. A world waiting for the Light of Christ to transfigure darkness into light. The icon being painted from darkness to lightness for this reason. It reflects the spiritual order in all of life.” Amen
Icon of Mary Undoer of Knots
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