Now we are in Greenville, South Carolina!

St John of the Ladder Orthodox Church

Hi Friends,

My family has moved to Greenville, South Carolina! I will be working on wall iconography for the St John of the Ladder parish. The project will take a number of years. I will post updates periodically on the Orthodox Arts Journal as well as on my website.

My first project here was a large icon of St John for the exterior of the building. There was a space designed for this icon above the doorway. St John is greeting us and inviting us in. His scroll represents his famous book, the Ladder of Divine Ascent. The ladder on his scroll also corresponds to the stairway leading up into the building.

St John, often called “Climacus,” was abbot of the monastery of St Catherine on Mt Sinai in the 6th century. He is commemorated on the fourth Sunday of Great Lent, and on March 30th. His book is one of the most important texts on the spiritual life, especially in the monastic context.

Installing the icon.

Special thanks to Chris Winn, Dmitri Mamontov, and Charlie Durham for helping to install the icon. We carried it up in a boom lift and fit it into the frame above the doorway.

I painted the icon in silicate paints, which can endure exposure to the weather year round, without fading or deteriorating. It should last hundreds of years. I prepared a piece of high-grade cementitious board with a thick coat of plaster, and used a pure potassium silicate binder, the oldest form of this paint.

The icon in place.

Keep an eye out for updates on the wall paintings as this project unfolds!

Some Recent Egg Tempera Icons

Hi Friends,

These are a few of my recent panel icon commissions, done in egg tempera paints. Enjoy!

Mother of God of the Sign. 15×20″.
Christ the Savior. Egg tempera, 11×14″.
Mother of God. Egg Tempera, 11×14″.
Saints Peter the Aleut and Herman of Alaska. Egg tempera, 12×14″.
St Thaisia of Egypt. Egg Tempera, 7×9″.
Christ Pantocrator. Egg tempera, 7×9″.

A Mural of the Emmaus Story

Ladder-Painting

In August I had the opportunity to paint a mural of the encounter with Christ on the way to Emmaus for the Holy Cross parish in Medford, New Jersey. This mural depicts the events of Luke 24: 13-35, in three scenes.

The first scene shows Christ interpreting the scriptures to the downcast disciples who do not yet recognize him. He is showing them that the Christ had to die, and to rise again, according to the scriptures. The second scene shows Christ breaking bread at the house on the way, where the disciples invited him to stay with them. This is the moment their eyes are opened and they recognize him. The third scene shows the disciples returning to Jerusalem to tell the others about their encounter.

Mural

I painted this mural with mineral silicate paints. The parish was looking for someone who knew these paints in particular, because the space gets full sun and exposure to the weather year round. These paints can last even in these conditions, without deteriorating. They require no protective coating.

The icon stands above the entryway of the church. The story of the way to Emmaus announces the meaning of the church building to the people who approach. The centerpiece is Christ, extending his arms and offering the bread of life.

Fr John Breck, in his article, Emmaus: Image of the Liturgy,1 describes how these three scenes correspond to the three major parts of the Liturgy. First, the Liturgy of the Word, consisting of biblical hymns, the appointed Gospel and Epistle readings, and the sermon. We encounter Christ in the opening of the scriptures. Second comes the Liturgy of the Faithful, with hymns and actions culminating in the breaking and distributing of the bread and wine in Communion as the Body and Blood of Christ. We encounter Christ in the breaking of the bread. Third is the dismissal, where we are sent back out into the world to share the joy we have received.

The community at Holy Cross was very hospitable, and supportive during the project. Many Thanks!

Three Icons of St Macrina

For the past three years, while I was at St Vladimir’s Seminary, I painted the icon of St Macrina the Younger that was given as a yearly teacher award. For the final year, I gave her the title Macrina the Teacher – this seemed appropriate for the context, but also,  more appropriate for the Saint. She is best known as an older sister to St Basil the great and St Gregory of Nyssa, who both refer to her above all as the teacher. St Gregory depicts her as an icon of Christ, for which reason I gave her a more Christ-like posture in the later icon.

Year one. St Macrina hold an icon of her three sainted siblings, which is also similar in form to the Three Hierarchs icon which is the dedication of the St Vladimir's chapel.

Year one. St Macrina hold an icon of her three sainted siblings, which is also similar in form to the Three Hierarchs icon which is the dedication of the St Vladimir’s chapel.

Year two. St Macrina is sometimes depicted as a monastic, with the schema.

Year two. St Macrina is sometimes depicted as a monastic, with the schema.

Year three. This icon went to our music teacher and choir director, and I found a quote that would resonate.

Year three. This icon went to our music teacher and choir director, and I found a quote that would resonate.

 

All three icons are painted with mineral silicate paints on plaster panels.

Merry Christmas from Seminary

Christ is Born!
Okeefe-family

We wish you a Merry Christmas from here at St. Vladimir’s Seminary.

I have just completed my first semester of the three-year Masters of Divinity program. My plan to enroll in the fall came together slowly, as my need for education grew increasingly apparent through the many opportunities that I (and my family) have encountered through my work as an iconographer. My hope is that this education will strengthen the theological and missionary basis of our work.

Most of my time is now spent reading, writing, and going to services. However, I am still taking commissions, with a special focus on silicate-paint icons.

Please continue to keep our family in our prayers!