Led by Cari Bridgen

Come and make a Byzantine icon. This introductory course offers participants the opportunity to make an icon over six weeks in the prayerful environment of the House of Prayer. All materials will be provided including pigments and an authentic gessoed panel. With Cari’s guidance and support, participants will be able to make a head and shoulders Byzantine image, choosing from several examples, including the Pantocrator, the Blessed Mary and Child, or an Angel. During the course, we will learn how to transfer the drawn image onto the panel, mix pigments and consider colours, and add layers of highlights beginning with the initial Proplasmos. We will not use gold leaf, but there will be gold paint for haloes, wings and garments. At the end of the course, our icons will be blessed.

Days begin at 10am and finish at 4pm. Please bring a packed lunch.

The workshop will meet weekly on Tuesdays on the following dates:

• 6, 13, 20, 27 May

• 3, 10 June 

Cost: £300 (for six sessions including materials)

Cari has worked as an Art psychotherapist for the past 20 years initially with children in the public sector and then with adults as a private practitioner with a special interest in spiritual abuse. She trained to be an Ignatian Spiritual Director eight years ago with an interest in the interface between trauma and an authentic spiritual journey. She started her career with a Degree in Art at Birmingham University and more recently going on to learn to make Icons with Peter Murphy (Master Iconographer) in Canterbury. “The liminal space in which all the arts exist seems to be an important place to heal and to grow in reflective contemplation”.

To book or for more information, contact the Administrator by e-mail or use our contact form.