Further Iconography in the USA

Hello,

I am Xenia Franck, an Orthodox iconographer, priest's wife, chanter, seamstress, and gardener. It is my desire in life to create beauty, and thus to make God visible in the world. I began painting Orthodox icons 10 years ago. I was taught to paint busts of saints on wooden boards, and that is primarily what I have done since then. Now I feel the call to work on a bigger scale. I want to paint churches and murals.

To do this I need more extensive training in iconography. I have been accepted into a select group to inaugurate the first ever in-depth iconography certificate program offered in the United States. I will work through 3 semesters of remote classes and 3 in-person residencies held across the world. Your support will help me pay for classes and the travel expense of doing things like learning fresco techniques currently practiced in Romania. The tuition for the classes is $3,400; Residency fees are $4,900; travel to NY, Romania, and Greece I estimate to be ~ $5,700; and I have $500 budgeted for supplies.

The Orthodox Christian Church in North America is still just finding her feet to stand upon. The development of liturgical arts is one of the necessary components to establishing our Faith in this new land. Byzantine iconography is a gift to the world. The more secularized our culture becomes, the more necessary and salvific becomes the witness of the gospel in paints.