…fortunately for those of us in class this week, Irene is a patient and caring teacher. One of the things that always strikes me about my friend Irene is her ability to encourage students to do their best while correcting the inevitable mistakes that will come over the course of writing an icon.
This afternoon several of us in the class, myself included, began to experience the frustration that comes when things on the board don’t look the way they should. There is always a solution, but that solution is not always apparent, and many times it takes several attempts to bring the icon back to the way it should look. As a result of mistakes today, I learned lots more about mixing colors than I have known in the past. By the end of the day, and after many layers of color, the icon looks more or less how I imagined it should look at this point.
Tomorrow we will put the final touches on our icons. I am certain that none of them will be perfect, which will make them very similar to those who have painted them. They will be, however, the product of many hours of prayer and work in the service of God.
