Essentials of Iconography: Writing the icon of Archangel Michael

With Marek Czarnecki

September 28 - October 3, 2025

Date and Time Details:
Check in: Sunday, September 28, 2025, at 4:30
Workshop Ends: Friday October 3, 2025, at 1 PM

Address: 1 Enders Island, Mystic CT. 06355

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

  • Private Room – $1,485.00
  • Commuter (includes lunches and dinners only) – $1,010.00
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Mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, St Michael the Archangel is the patron saint of our Sacred Arts Institute. One of the most depicted saints in Orthodox icons and western religious art, his popularity attests to his powerful intercession and protection against all forms of evil.
This workshop’s prototype is a fourteenth century icon kept at the Byzantine Museum of Athens. Students will make a shoulder length copy of the face, wings and upper robe on a flat 8” x 10” gessoed wood panel. After making a careful drawing in ink, students make their own paint by mixing egg yolks with natural pigments.  We parallel the model’s historical technique step by step, applying color in several successively brighter layers.
A challenge in this icon is identifying the subtle underlying organization of the hair, then repeating their rhythmic parallel groupings with finely painted calligraphic lines. More challenging is illuminating the youthful face with softly blended transparent passages of tone, reaching full opacity in the brightest areas. Each brushstroke is accompanied with the prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”.
All materials and tools needed to complete an icon are provided. Students attending the workshop need to arrive with basic brush skills, a familiarity with the color wheel and some experience mixing colors.

This week-long workshop’s studio time lasts five consecutive days. Check in begins Sunday night at 4:30. Dinner is served at 5:30 pm for students and instructors. Dinner is followed by a workshop introduction and conference, which ends at 9:00 pm. Hands-on instruction begins early Monday morning. The last meal is lunch on Friday. The art studio will be available Friday afternoon to complete your icon.

 

Workshop & commuter. Includes Daily Lunch and Dinner : $1010.00

Workshop with Private Room:  : $1485.00

Materials will be provided

If you would like to inquire about a Shared Room option, please call the main office.

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

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