How do you prepare for writing an icon?Ī rule of prayer is a must before starting anything, and I don’t even try if I am not at peace with everyone before going to the studio.Ĩ. It is my responsibility to create within the theology of the Orthodox Church, to research what I am doing to the best of my ability so I do not take away, but enhance the observer’s experience before an icon.ħ. The objective is to pray and communicate with God through the icon. John the Baptist said, “He must increase and I must decrease.” So, too, the iconographer must take the back seat and let the Lord take over in the icon. The icon must be a window to the kingdom of heaven for the viewer or I have not been successful in my vocation. What impact do you hope you icons will have on the viewer? What responsibility does an iconographer have to the person praying before the icon? I love icons and find them all mystically beautiful. In my studio I have an icon print of Our Lord done by Rublev that I have prayed in front of for years. I guess I lean more towards the Slavic style, but I hope I have developed a style that speaks to the people of this country. We need to spread the Gospel to all and not be restricted to what is Greek, Antiochian, Russian, and so on. Do you work in a particular style of iconography? Their witness to the faith through their iconography and their role as teachers taught me as much about Orthodoxy as about iconography. I am grateful to God for giving me their guidance and their friendship.Ĥ. The guidance that they have given me goes beyond technical and stylistic instruction. Over the last 25 years, I have trained under two priests and a layman. Who taught you to write icons or are you self-taught? I just asked to serve the Lord in whatever way He wanted me to. This was His answer.ģ. I never asked for the ability to paint, since icons were still slowly coming into my life. I prayed to the Lord after converting to Orthodoxy and asked how I could serve Him. Were you a trained artist before you began painting icons? They have changed my life just by being visible and witnessing (in their silence) their love for God, and stirring my heart to do more.Ģ. Icons open constant opportunities to pray. The most dramatic change in my life with icons is prayer. I have been an Orthodox Christian for 32 years and have been painting for about 26 years. I struggled to understand icons, in order to embrace the faith. I grew up in the Presbyterian Church and was taught that any statues or “pictures” were never to be kissed or prayed before in any way. Tell us how icons have changed your life. Her icons are featured in the current Icon Calendar from Conciliar Press. She currently resides in Davidsville, Pennsylvania, a small town in the Laurel Mountains, 92 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
If you love icons, don’t miss this opportunity! For more information or a brochure, please e-mail the department or visit our website.Ĭheryl Ann has been married for thirty-eight years to Eugene Pituch and is the mother of four children and the grandmother of two.
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Amateur or professional iconographers are encouraged to bring an icon for our “Festival of Orthodoxy” display. Teacher-training courses and the Church School Director Seminar are also scheduled for the Institute.
#Cheryl ann pituch iconographer how to#
The Department of Christian Education sponsors the annual Orthodox Institute, and the theme of this year’s event is iconography. The Institute will include several courses on iconography and provide participants an opportunity to learn how to write icons (“Utilizing Crafts”).
Vasiliki Oldziey, Christian Education Coordinator for the Diocese of Wichita and the Midwest, interviewed them this summer. Cheryl Ann Pituch and Niko Chocheli will be presenting workshops at Antiochian Village for the event, “Icons: Windows to Heaven,” November 4–7, 2010.
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