Icon painting courses

Highland Icon Courses

Each year, Sister Petra Clare opens the doors of the hermitage to give occasional in-depth tuition for those with a serious interest in writing icons, at a professional or vocational level. These take place in Marydale parish hall, adjoining Sancti Angeli skete. There are opportunities for walking in the evenings and weekends in the surrounding Highlands, including the Glen Affric National nature reserve. A good choice of local accommodation is available. Religious, priests and women participants may sometimes be accommodated in the parish flat or (women only) at the skete.




Students at work

HIGHLAND ICON SUMMER SCHOOL:
August 14th-25th 2007

This course gives in-depth tuition to a small group. Applicants will need previous experience of writing icons or of some other form of artwork. Each week can be taken separately. After completing both weeks students can return for extra guidance, working on their own choice of icon. The lectures in the first week are open to visitors interested in the subject.

£200.00 per week includes simple lunch, accommodation extra. Bring most of your own materials, but gesso & pigments provided. 9.30am-5pm Monday- Saturday. Gesso and pigments supplied, but all other materials supplied by student.

Week 1: Design, Gesso & Brush: August 14th-18th.

Week 2: Writing (Painting) the Icon: August 21st-25th.

Individual sessions. (Online Icon students only) can be arranged in the evening and over the weekend, as time permits. £10 per hour special rate.

Lectures only. (9.30am-10.15am) during first week. £5.00.

GILDING COURSE: 29th October-2nd November 2007

Water and oil gilding with gold leaf. This course is largely for iconographers and artists with previous experience of working on gessoed board, If you wish to learn to gild, but have no previous experience, enquire about evening sessions to learn gesso technique.

£250.00 includes simple lunch. Boles and stamping materials supplied, but all other materials supplied by student. Supplement to learn gesso £10 per hour special rate.

APPLY NOW!

E-MAIL

sancti.angeli@ukonline.co.uk

INDIVIDUAL TUTORIALS

These can be arranged very occasionally. Enquire. £100 per day (i.e.£20.00 per hour), accommodation not included. Before you ask, it is totally impossible to teach someone the icon as a sideline in the studio while painting one’s own icons on commission, owing to the intensive nature of the tuition needed!
SUMMER SCHOOL WEEK 1: AUGUST 14th-18th 2007
DESIGN, GESSO, & BRUSH
Each day opens with an illustrated lecture on an aspect of icon design. The rest of the day till 5pm is spent in practical work. The first four days are a Masterclass in drawing the icon, combined with a thorough grounding in making gesso . On the final day you develop tonal exercises in tempera on gesso. Senior/online students work on designs for their own icons.



Drawing up a design
for painting
DRAWING AND DESIGN FOR THE ICON:
Making the ‘spiritual flow’ drawing.

Through slide lectures and practical work we find out how ‘theology in line and colour’ is conveyed through the icon, We focus on how scripture is not only conveyed by the subject, but how teaching - a homily on the scripture - is conveyed in the design.

We work with pencil charcoal and brush, part of the time on toned paper. Brush drawing is very important to an iconographer. When you write your icon, a lot of the time you will be drawing with the brush. On toned paper, we learn to see the shapes of darkness and light within the icon. Because the icon starts with the darkest colours and then moves into lighter tones we need to get used to seeing the light we are aiming for.

Icons are painted on wood covered with cloth and gesso - a white plaster like substance - which is tricky to make. The course passes on tips learnt over twenty-five years of writing icons professionally.

On the final day we start work on colour exercises which will help us to develop the tonal glow which transfigures the icon. For newcomers, these can be developed into a technical ‘sampler’ in the following week - which is kept as a useful guide to refer to when writing icons.

The process of making and applying gesso

Tonal exercises and sampler of painting techniques

SUMMER SCHOOL WEEK 2: AUGUST 21st-25th 2007
WRITING (PAINTING) THE ICON
All students attending this week must have done week one previously. Some illustrated lectures on an aspect of icon design are included. The rest of the day between 9.30am and 5pm is spent in practical work. The first time you attend this week you will write an icon of the face of Christ. The second year, an icon of Our Lady. After this, develop icons of your own choice (online students follow the set icons for the course).



Writing the icon of Our Lady of the Passion
WRITING (PAINTING) THE ICON

At the heart of iconography is the search to find ‘spiritual light’ through colour. How can we express ‘sown a physical body, raised a spiritual body’ through paint? The icon has been developed over centuries and each generation of iconographers have added their contribution to develop a unique technique.

“Painting, or writing, an icon is prayer in action. The bringing together of body, mind, heart and soul in the single pointed attention, the utter mindfulness of what is before you. And not as a task as an end in itself, but a task underpinned, infused with the absolute desire to surrender to, pay attention to, listen for, approach, sit by, feel the presence of, serve………God.”

Making a series of studies

A large icon to blend face tones

Balancing red & green tones


A STUDENT’S TESTIMONIAL
Download Stephen Wright’s experience of writing the icon at the Highland Summer School.
A Student's Testimonial - Stephen Wright


GILDING COURSE: 29th. October -2nd. November 2007
A one week course in water and oil gilding with gold leaf. 9.30am - 5.00pm. Bring gessoed boards or/and icons ready to gild. If you have no previous experience enquire about evening sessions (not included) to learn gesso technique).



Burnishing water gild
GILDING FOR ICONS: 29th Oct - 2nd Nov

Water and Oil Gilding on a traditional bole base are both taught. We start by preparing the bole ground, then learn how to handle and lay sheets of loose gold (not transfer). We make up both a larger section of water gild and a sampler to experiment with the effects of several colours of gold in both burnished and matt finishes. Techniques for making embossed halos and ‘carpet’ embossing are included. Assiste gilding for garments is included.

A slide lecture showing how gilding can be used is incorporated.

Minimum Gessoed boards needed. Two boards for experiment, at least 30 x 30 cm or similar. One smaller board with dry tempera (painted on at least two weeks previously) for assiste.

Additional Options. Bring one or two icon boards already prepared, with the design laid out (but not painted) for oil or/and water gilding. Bring a board incorporating raised/engraved gesso.

No previous experience of gesso or/and making raised gesso-work.

Enquire about extra evening sessions.

Carpet & burnished water gild.

A sampler of gilding techniques

Assiste gilding on a Pantokrator

Raised and engraved gesso on a Celtic Cross

INDIVIDUAL TUTORIALS
These are infrequent - at the most one or two a year, as they can be fitted in at Sancti Angeli skete, around commission work. Priority is given to enclosed monks and nuns following the Online course and others who may find it impossible to be available at the usual course times. You need to enquire at least six months ahead!

TUTORIAL DIARY
BROTHER ALEX


Brother Alex Echeandia from Belmont Abbey’s monastery in Peru, was able to come for Masterclasses after attending foundation level courses with Sister Petra Clare and Aidan Hart.

He is now following the Online Course from Peru, while he trains for the priesthood.

RIGHT: Study for the face of an angel

LEFT: A trip to Glen Affric on the final day!

TUTORIAL DIARY
SISTER MARIA


Sister Maria Hii from the Poor Clares at Arundel is an enclosed nun. She was only able to come for a limited period for a two week intensive back up to the Online Course.

RIGHT: Apostle St. Simon

LEFT: Sister Maria with her work of two weeks!

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