Dates: Monthly Sundays: Jan 22nd, Feb 19th, Mar 26th, April 23, May 28, June 25, July 30, August 27, September 24th, 2023
Time: 1-4 pm ET
Individual Standalone Sessions $55 per regular / $50 Patreon Members
Full Set of 9 Classes: $425 Regular / $375 Patreon Members

PLEASE NOTE: All classes will also be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time, but it is highly recommended you attend the classes live for the richest experience.

Why are Greek icons thought to breathe, why are they said to be “written” rather than painted, and why do they use so much gold?

Greek sacred art is always functional. Reliefs, statues, tapestries, icons and talismans are all divine communication devices with the gods, saints, and the dead. The Greek tradition of sacred art can be traced to antiquity, where statues were literal vessels for the gods. The veneration and depiction of saints and holy figures in Greek Orthodox icons traces a direct historical lineage to ancient art, with a detailed philosophy not very different from its pre-Christian roots. Icons are seen as living images, not idols, and every detail hides rich layers of symbolism – a language in itself - designed to bring the viewer in closer contact with the divine.

In this lavishly illustrated series of seminars and workshops spanning the evolution of Greek sacred art, artist, author, and scholar Dr. Sasha Chaitow— herself a native of Greece—will taks you on a unique journey through the hidden symbolism and history of the iconographic tradition and its pre-Christian roots.

The workshops and the making segments follow a rough historical timeline, starting with the roots of Greek sacred art in antiquity, and moving through its evolutionary stages into the Christian era. Apart from “high” art, sacred art is also found in the home and in public spaces in the form of folk art; these too, will be explored.

By the end of this culturally immersive course we will have worked through different elements of Greek sacred art to build an artistic toolbox that will enrich the work of practicing artists, that practitioners in various traditions can use to create pieces for ritual use, and that all participants may use to keep their dear departed near or to draw some Greek magic into their home. All students will take the first steps towards creating a selection of Greek-inspired items to develop further as they please.

Note / Disclaimer
This is not a course in how to create ecclesiastic icons which have strict, faith-based requirements and use specific materials and techniques. Rather, it looks at Greek sacred art as a whole from an authentic cultural historical perspective.

Students from all faiths and backgrounds are welcome. You do not need to be a trained artist, but some basic drawing experience will be helpful.

Course structure
In the first half of each workshop, Sasha will deliver richly illustrated talk focusing on a particular element in Greek sacred art, followed by a Q & A session and time for sharing and offering feedback on work inspired by the previous session. In the second half, she will demonstrate how to create the piece chosen for the workshop, talk students through technique and symbolic meanings, and show step-by-step “making of” guidelines. By the end of each session, students have a draft drawing and clear guidelines to follow so as to complete the piece as they wish.

Workshop Themes

Session One: Greek Sacred Art Past and Present
Making segment: Apotropaic charm

Session Two: Conversations with the Dead
Making segment: Traditional lekythos (offering vessel)

Session Three: Living portraits: The missing link
Making segment: The Fayum portrait

Session Four: Heroes, Saints, and Gods
Making segment: Composition: faces and postures

Session Five: Color in Greek Sacred Art
Making segment: Technique: Garments and colors

Session Six: Angels, Creatures of Fire
Making segment: Materials and decoration

Session Seven: The Great Mother, Queen of Heaven
Making segment: Panayia of the Life-Giving Source

Session Eight: Sacred Art in the Home: The Household Shrine
Making segment: Make your own shrine

Session Nine: Sacred Art in Folk tradition
Making segment: Traditional panel for protection and luck

Materials required
Most of the live workshops call for pencils (including colored pencils) and paper, or gouache paints, or whichever color media participants are most comfortable working with for rough drafts. Students will also need several sheets of sketching paper and a large ruler. It is assumed that students will have these to hand during the workshops. If specific materials apart from these are required, they will be noted in the individual workshop descriptions. Guidance will be given on materials for developing finished pieces in each individual workshop.

Detailed workshop descriptions

Greek Sacred Art Past and Present
Making segment: Apotropaic charm

In this workshop we will look at the Greek beliefs underlying the idea of statue animation, how talismans were thought to be actual vessels for the gods, and trace the history of its evolution through to icon writing to discover how the ancient tradition has survived within Orthodox practice. In the making segment we will explore two different apotropaic (protective) charms which can be scaled up or down for the home or to wear on the person. After working through the symbolism and design options, Sasha will demonstrate several different ways to complete the piece depending on individual creative preference.

Conversations with the Dead
Making segment: Traditional lekythos (offering vessel)

The ancient Greeks developed many ways of communicating with the dead, and great feasts as well as private mourning always included a stage of honouring the dead with offerings before proceeding with festivities. This talk explores the many ways in which the Greeks stayed in touch with their dead, and the powerful role that art played in doing so. In ancient Greece the lekythos was a ceramic vessel used to store offerings that were placed around graves. It was always decorated with images of the departed, with very specific and significant symbolism. In the making section of this workshop we will design our own lekythos for personal or ritual use, following the authentic symbolism and designs found on ancient ceramics.

Materials needed:

• OPTIONAL: Small ceramic vessel (see image for original lekythos, but any shape will do for this exercise). You do not need this for the workshop, but may need it if you wish to complete the piece.

Living portraits: The Missing Link
Making segment: The Fayum portrait

The Fayum portraits were originally death portraits on wooden panels, created for upper class Greco-Egyptians in Roman Egypt (1^st century BC – 1^st century AD). They represent a crucial link between ancient Greek and Orthodox Christian art, as it is in the stylization of the portrait that key elements of the iconography tradition developed. Aside from their incredible aesthetic and historical value, their spiritual and philosophical importance is mindblowing, since they represent a powerful fusion of Greek and Egyptian beliefs on the immortality of the soul, and the nature of image as vessel for departed spirits. After exploring the history, aesthetics, and importance of the Fayum portraits, we will explore the details of their stylistic and compositional value and begin to shift our visual focus to grasp the elements of technique. In the making section we will explore the basic elements of this style of portrait, with particular attention to the stylization and composition, aiming to recreate the portrait style using a photograph of a real individual.

Additional materials:

• Two printed color copies of a photograph of a departed individual. Please do not use an original/valuable photograph for this workshop. An enlarged (eg. A5) color print-out is best (it does not need to be high-res – it’s OK if a little blurry).

• Colored pencils OR gouache paints in the following colors (they do need to be these specific colors): Burnt umber, raw umber, burnt sienna, raw sienna, white, yellow ochre, cobalt blue.

• All materials in the general course listing.

Heroes, Saints, and Gods
Making segment: Composition: faces and postures

The earliest form of organized worship in ancient Greece is hero-worship at monuments known as heroa (ηρώα), some of which still stand today, such as the gigantic tombs at ancient Mycenae. Some heroes were thought to become demi-gods, in a very early example of the idea of human ascent from the mortal to the immortal plane, and their bones, preserved in the heroa, were thought to have magic power, much like saints’ relics in Christian tradition. The tradition of patron saints and their relics is a continuation of the heroic tradition. After tracing the history and concepts, we look at the depictions of heroes and saints, and then use these figures as a springboard to focus on key elements of the icon: the face and posture, and their symbolism. We will look at different kinds of icons and their uses, techniques for drawing the face and hands, and students will be given guidelines for drawing their first icon (whether of a saint or a hero) over the following weeks.

Additional materials:

• Colored pencils OR gouache paints in the following specific colors: Burnt umber, raw umber, burnt sienna, raw sienna, white, yellow ochre, cobalt blue.

Color in Greek sacred art
Making segment: Technique: Garments and colors

The color palette in ancient and Byzantine art is very different to the color wheel as we know it today. Colors were understood in terms of their brightness and intensity rather than their place on the color spectrum, and some of the earliest scientific explorations of optics, the nature of color and light, and mathematical correspondences between color, musical harmonics, and universal patterns derive from ancient times. Early color theory used a strict palette of only four colors to develop a whole spectrum; later, in Byzantine art, these were extended to seven. After a journey through ancient color materials and palette development, we will learn about Greek color symbolism, its use in iconography, and the unusual techniques used to create light and shadow. We will also look at the stylized methods for painting garments and backgrounds in the iconographic tradition, and in the making segment, students will have an opportunity to try this out for themselves and build on the piece begun in the previous session featuring a figure of their choice.

Additional materials:

• Colored pencils OR gouache paints in the following specific colors: Burnt umber, raw umber, burnt sienna, raw sienna, white, yellow ochre, cobalt blue.

Angels, Creatures of Fire and Ice
Making segment: Materials and decoration

Just as colors were selected for their symbolism when used in sacred art, so were materials, and in the Byzantine era iconographers went to great lengths to match their materials to the nature of the entities they were depicting. Theological debate concluded that angels were elemental creatures made of fire and ice, and the most opulent Byzantine icons reflect this in the use of precious gems and enamels inlaid on solid, hammered gold reliefs. Through a focus on devotional items from the Cycladic period through to modern votives and icons, this workshop explores some of the materials used in sacred art and their alchemical nature, and the designs and patterns used as ornamentation in both icons and sacred spaces. This is the focus of the making section, where we will discover how to unlock the complex geometrical patterns used in sacred art, and apply them to our own work.

The Great Mother, Queen of Heaven
Making segment: Panayia of the Life-Giving Source

Hera, Demeter, Persephone Artemis, Athena, Hekate, Hestia and Aphrodite are familiar names to readers of Greek mythology, but few know that their many attributes and epithets were collectively applied to the one female deity who replaced them in Christian times. Panayia – She the Most Holy – the Madonna, is possibly the most widely beloved and worshipped figure across Greece. Though firmly placed within the Christian faith, her worship absorbed and maintained most of the characteristics of pre-Christian goddesses, and thus we have a Militant Panayia with attributes of Athena, and a Panayia of Many Grains in just one of her depictions borrowed from Demeter. She has also absorbed the trials and tribulations of the Greek people, becoming Panayia the Slaughtered when a mad monk attacked her icon with a knife, Three-Handed Panayia reflecting a miracle laid down in church tradition, and over 300 other names. From the grace of heaven to the depths of the tomb, like Hekate, there is no realm she cannot cross. Most often depicted with the baby Jesus, she is also found in multi-figure icons depicting the Passion, as well as her own Dormition. These have very specific characteristics, and multi-figure icons carry their own technical challenges. After an exploration of Panayia’s many attributes and her place in the Greek belief system, in the making segment we will look at the construction and composition of such icons, specific elements of her iconography, and prepare an outline of a classic composition depicting the Panayia of the Life-Giving Source.

Sacred Art in the Home: The Household Shrine
Making segment: Make your own shrine

In antiquity no home would be without a shrine for the household gods, with very particular attributes and rituals. A second shrine would be found just outside the gate of most homes, featuring different protective deities for both residents and passing travelers. These evolved into herms – roadside statues of priapic gods and other important figures also intended for protective, or even didactic purposes. Both these traditions survive in modern Greece, and while icons of saints have replaced the ancient gods, their purpose is the same. In this workshop we will explore the meaning, symbolism, purpose and creation of the household shrine, and in the making segment we will explore and develop designs to make our own, whether elaborate or simple, three-dimensional or as a panel. Sasha will give students a number of ideas and alternative methods for creating their own shrine, using authentic designs and materials.

Sacred Art in Folk tradition
Making segment: Traditional panel for protection and luck

After the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks which signaled the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, Greek culture and tradition survived within rural communities permitted to keep their language and religion. Folk art preserved sacred art traditions lost in the turmoil of war, and used them to create protective carvings for doorways and springs, protective embroidery for bridal garments and bedding, furniture carvings, and even designs embedded into food shared on festival days. Ancient objects found in riverbeds sparked fairy folklore; priests still visit every Greek home at the close of Yule to exorcise goblins. This final workshop in the course, brings sacred art back into the home. After exploring the evolution and symbolism within it, we will prepare a panel for our own homes using traditional folk designs to weave a protective charm drawing on Greek folk magic.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

A British-Greek artist, author, and cultural historian with too many cats, Dr Sasha Chaitow is the author of research studies Atalanta Unveiled: Alchemical Initiation in the Emblems of the Atalanta Fugiens (Attic, 2020) and Son of Prometheus: The Life and Work of Joséphin Péladan (Theion, 2022), Series Editor of The Leon Chaitow Library of Bodywork and Movement Therapies (Elsevier), and has contributed book chapters to several scholarly volumes in esoteric studies. She has published numerous articles in peer reviewed journals and a variety of international magazines.

Sasha has taught at universities and in adult education for over 20 years. Her most recent taught courses (2020-2022) include Introduction to the Academic Study of Western Esotericism; Secrets of Greek Sacred Art; Hesiod’s Theogony for Treadwell’s Events (London) and Critical Research Appraisal; Scientific Research Development for Physiotherapists (University of Patras, Greece) where she is currently a guest lecturer. Her courses The Occult Power of Greek Icons and Esoteric Visual Languages have been developed exclusively for Morbid Anatomy.

A practicing artist and gallerist, in her teens she trained in an icon-painting workshop in Corfu, Greece, later attending the Vakalo School of Fine Arts in Athens, Greece. Since 2000 she has presented 14 solo art exhibitions in the UK, Greece, and Sweden, and participated in several curated group exhibitions in the UK, Greece, and Spain. Her neosymbolist artwork draws on her early training as well as her scholarship of esotericism. Since 2015 she has curated Icon Gallery and The Attic Gallery in Corfu

More info here.