Essentials of Iconography

With Marek Czarnecki

August 20 - 25, 2023

Date and Time Details:
Sunday, August 20, 2023,at 4:30
Friday August 25, at 1 PM

Address: 1 Enders Island, Mystic CT. 06355

Contact: info@endersIsland.org
(860)536-0565

Twin Double Shared – $1,235.00
Twin Single – $1,385.00
Commuter – $910.00

Join us for an Iconography workshop with one of the country’s most talented Iconographers. Throughout this workshop Marek guides you through the foundations for writing an icon. Understanding that simplicity can be very deep but not always easy, through this workshop you will discover and deepen your knowledge of painting an icon using a historical process and traditional materials.

You will learn and refine the method of mixing egg yolk with clay and mineral pigments to create a durable paint, that you will then apply to a primed wood panel. Building with steps of lighter colors, you will gradually manifest the luminous face of a saint. Iconography manifests the soul shining through a human portrait. Your subject for this workshop is the transfigured human face, taken from historical Eastern Orthodox and contemporary models.

The model for the August iconography workshop is a 16^th century Cretan icon of Mary, the Mother of God. This noble, shoulder length image is remarkable for its direct gaze, open expression, symmetrical balance, clarity of the drawing, palette, and use of inner light to illuminate form. It is also one of the rare historical Orthodox prototypes of the Mother of God unaccompanied by the child Jesus.

The challenge of writing this icon is to understand how the garment (called a “maphorion”) conforms to the real anatomy of a human head and shoulders; how to illuminate the veil with both soft transparent blended passages of inner light and brighter geometric planes. The simplest icons are the most difficult to copy. Here, the careful minimal drawing of this face, with its soft luminous modelling, must be done with precision and subtlety. Every element is essential.

This week-long workshop’s studio time lasts five consecutive days and kicks off on Sunday night at 5:30 pm with a dinner where students and the instructor have an opportunity to meet. Dinner is followed by a workshop introduction and conference which ends at 9:00 pm. Hands-on instruction begins early Monday morning with a blessing of hands at the 9:00 am Mass. The entire workshop ends Friday at 1 PM.

Commuter: Workshop + Daily Lunch and Dinner: $910.00

Resident: Workshop + Daily Meal Package* + Shared Room: $1235.00

Private Room: Workshop + Daily Meal Package* + Private Room: $1385.00

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and snacks.

Workshop Materials:

A $100 materials and model fee is included in the cost of this workshop.

All materials used in this workshop will be pre-ordered and made available to students in the classroom by the instructor.

Please call the office for more information: (860) 536-0565

About the Leader

Marek Czarnecki

Marek Czarnecki is an artist, iconographer, restorer and community scholar for Connecticut’s Polish-American Community. Originally from Bristol CT, Marek graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. An unexpected commission began his three decades studying historical Byzantine iconography. In 1996, the Connecticut Commission on the Arts awarded him its Painting Fellowship, which […]

Learn more about Marek Czarnecki

Categories : Consecutive Weekdays, Iconography, In Person, Sacred Art Workshops, Weekday Program

St. Edmund's Retreat | 1 Enders Island, Mystic CT, 06355 | 860-536-0565 | info@endersisland.org