Page 59 - AECA.org.uk ¦ Koinonia 63

AECA Grant Report

SUSAN MOBBERLEY received an AECA grant to learn the techniques of
iconography. In this article she feedback on what this meant for her.

Icon Diploma Course

It was a very exciting experience to meet with others embarking on the
Prince’s School of Traditional Arts 3 year Icon Diploma Course in the
autumn of last year. We began by listening to each other’s stories of how
we had found ourselves here. Often moving, what they each had in
common was a genuine passion to explore further this sacred art form
of iconography. The pace and standard of the course is rigorous, led by
tutor Aidan Hart, himself an Orthodox iconographer. Beginning with
practicing brush strokes, we soon progressed to painting faces, busts
and full length monochromes. Woven in with these practical sessions
are our daily prayers and lectures giving something of the history and
theological grounding in which iconography is steeped. So far these
have included the a?rmations of the 7th Ecumenical Council, a talk on
the development of the icon screen, and the ‘Three stages of spiritual
ascent and their relationship with iconography’. For myself, the growing
awareness of the parity of word and image within Orthodoxy has par-
ticularly resonated. A lecture by visiting speaker Professor Peter Bur-
man on ‘The Creative Artist and the Church’ gave further food for
thought on the implications of commissioning and locating sacred art
within our churches.

At a parish level, we are also trying to take on board these re?ec-
tions as we consider more carefully how to make use of icons in our
churches and in our liturgy. In particular a small group of us has been
meeting weekly after being involved in other icon courses locally. We
meet in the Lady Chapel of one of our churches to explore painting and
prayer in a sacred context. In an attempt to increase awareness we are

57