A Sunday in Ordinary Time

My Sunday started with the 10:30 service at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church - as always a technicolor experience for the eyes, the ears and the heart. I don't know why I flipped the camera at the end. Obviously, I'm no videographer...

An excerpt from the church brochure describes the artwork, "A 2,300-square-foot iconographic mural encircles the rotunda walls .... The Dancing Saints Icon depicts 90 saints chosen by the congregation, larger than life and in dancing poses that model a distinctive feature of our worship." Some of the saints of whom you can catch a glimpse in the video are Lady Godiva with her horse, Sadi with tiger, John Coltrane, Francis of Assisi with wolf, Martha Graham, John Muir, Teresa of Avila, Sojourner Truth, and Seraphim with bear.

After the service I walked to Pizza Nostra, just two blocks from church. The Potrero Hill neighborhood is generally sunnier and warmer than the rest of San Francisco, so it's always a treat for me to be able to enjoy lunch at an outdoor table.

After lunch it was back to the church for the ongoing icon workshop, where I am slowly, very slowly, making progress.

All in all, a good day.

Visioning with paper, glue and paint.

I'm taking two online mixed media classes at the moment, in addition to a twice monthly icon painting workshop, and trying to find some time to read.

For the first project in the class offered by Kathryn Antyr of True North Arts we were supposed to make a "vision card" that depicts a place that to us represents relaxation and serenity. For some reason what came to me was an image of myself in nature, at one with it, not separate from it. Sort of an ambitious vision, but it is what it is. I reduced the image, printed it as a 4x6 card, and propped it up on its little stand. There should probably be a colon after the word creation, but I wanted a comma. Call it poetic license. Guess it could be called a lot of things.

Anyway, the photo was taken of me in 1974, approximately, in a tropical forest in Hawai'i, probably on the island of Molokai, and I'm wearing a very large leaf. Ah, the good old days.

The other online class is with Suzi Blu and it is called "The Goddess and the Poet". Here is a sample of my latest drawing for that class.

I think I'm in love with her and I think there is a touch of Hawai'i in her too. Something is in the air between me and Hawai'i at the moment. The islands where I lived from 1969 to 1974 are leaving me little messages all over the place, but I am resisting. I HATE to fly. Even with drugs and alcohol.

The icon writing (that's what it's called) workshop is taught by Betsy Porter at St. Gregory of Nyssa's Episcopal Church in San Francisco. There we try our hand at painting Byzantine-style icons under the gaze of the colorful "dancing saints" who grace the walls of the church.

Here is the icon I have been working on for over a year and a half. That's not as crazy as it sounds because, yes, there are a gazillion steps, but class is only 2 to 3 times a month, and I skipped several months! I have about 3 or 4 more steps to go.

The Archangel Gabriel

Is it any wonder I can't find time to start reading "The Gift of the Jews" by Thomas Cahill?