M O S C O W - Passport magazine

and only then go on to the practice.
Here the classes last for 6 hours, with a
break for lunch in the middle. We spend
most of the time drawing icons.
Most people here are Christians, but
there is a substantial difference between
the different confessions. It is easier to
teach Catholics than Protestants because
most Catholics have undergone
some kind of religious training in childhood,
and the canons of Church Orthodox
belief are therefore closer to them.
How do you actually teach? (Irina)
There are 29 stages of icon drawing.
Some of these are technical and
some relate to invisible internal spiritual
changes. Of supreme importance
is the spiritual state of the icon drawer.
There are seven visible steps which are
deduced from the seven kinds of praying
in the ancient religion, and 22 invisible
steps as we call them. The Prosafon
school does not distinguish before the
7 different kinds of prayer carried out by
Orthodox monks and icon drawing.
None of what we are doing has anything
to do with fine art. All we demand
from the student is that he or she carries
out the instructions of the teacher.
Of course we would like students to
understand that it is not possible to
portray the face of God, but it is possible
to portray an interpretation of God
through action.
Our studies are based on icons drawing
of the 15th century and beginning of the
16th century in Moscow and Novgorod. We
use only natural materials such as wood,
organic glue and mineral pigments.
There are 6 lessons in this course. During
the first lesson, the outline of the
face is transferred to the board, using
templates of ancient icons. During the
second lesson, the icon is “opened”, that
is, colour is added. As we draw, the basic
spiritual idea behind this is explained.
January 2011
The Way It Is
The mere fact that students are drawing
from a template and not from their
imagination indicates that they have accepted
that God cannot be imagined or
portrayed directly, and in this the drawer
is automatically accepting his or her
place in the spiritual hierarchy of things.
Why is your group made up of women
only? (Irina)
The majority of students are women
at the moment, which is a reflection of
the current level of spirituality of humankind
at the moment. Women generally
speaking have more time, and
icon drawing takes a lot of time.
How much does it cost? (Irina)
1500 roubles for each lesson, which includes
everything apart from the boards
and the gold leaf used to complete the
icons, because these are expensive. On
the site there is a list of shops where the
materials can be bought.
How do you, Davina, as a painter handle
the discipline of icon painting? (Davina
Garrido De Miguel , one of the students)
Icon writing is based on writing, not
painting. When I said I was a painter, they
said: “Oh, you’ll have problems, because
you’ll try and do your own thing instead
of just following the course. It’s about
not expressing yourself and following
the discipline.” Maybe it is, but for me,
I gain a lot from doing this, about techniques,
about many things which I can
take back to me own work. It’s like learning
another language, especially the
language of writing colour. There is also
the spiritual aspect which is interwoven
into this, and which is amazing.
What was the most interesting stage for
you? (Davina Garrido De Miguel).
The initial stage when we chose which
face we were going to do. The end is
lovely, but then you’re done.
Irina added: There is nothing wrong
with individuality, and you can add that
at a later stage, when you have mastered
the basics of icon writing. The Church
has an understanding of the spiritual
meaning of each colour, which existed
in monasteries in ancient times.
If you want to find out more about the
icon writing groups which meet in Moscow,
contact Irina Vorfluseva, on home
+74997423845, cell +79153291138, or at
http://www.raaad.org/prosoponschool.
org/new/about.html P
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