Sarum College logo
  • All learning
    • Short Courses
      • Exploring Theology
    • Prospective Students – Ways to Learn
      • Grantmaking Trusts
    • Postgraduate Study
      • Postgraduate Study in Christian Spirituality
      • Postgraduate Study in Theology, Ministry and Mission
      • Guided Independent Research
    • Sarum College Course in Spiritual Direction
    • Private Stays, Retreats & Study Breaks
    • Grantmaking Trusts
    • Library
      • Guide to Library Services
    • Learning Resources
  • Ministry
    • Ordination
      • Undergraduate Award
      • Postgraduate Award
      • Rural ministry
      • Parish-based pioneer ministry
    • Licensed Lay Ministry / Readers
    • Independent Study
  • Stay, Meet & Eat
  • Courses & Events Diary
  • Join the mailing list
Sarum College logo
  • Course brochure
  • About Us
    • Our People
    • Governance
    • Work with us
  • Safeguarding
  • News
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • All learning
    • Short Courses
      • Exploring Theology
    • Prospective Students – Ways to Learn
      • Grantmaking Trusts
    • Postgraduate Study
      • Postgraduate Study in Christian Spirituality
      • Postgraduate Study in Theology, Ministry and Mission
      • Guided Independent Research
    • Sarum College Course in Spiritual Direction
    • Private Stays, Retreats & Study Breaks
    • Grantmaking Trusts
    • Library
      • Guide to Library Services
    • Learning Resources
  • Ministry
    • Ordination
      • Undergraduate Award
      • Postgraduate Award
      • Rural ministry
      • Parish-based pioneer ministry
    • Licensed Lay Ministry / Readers
    • Independent Study
  • Stay, Meet & Eat
  • Courses & Events Diary
  • Join the mailing list

Painting Icons Workshop Retreat

In this section:

About|Details|What our students say|Tutor(s)|Related short courses

Home Short Courses Human Flourishing Painting Icons Workshop Retreat

Painting Icons Workshop Retreat course

This course offers a practical way into iconography by engaging with some of the skills that go towards the painting of a panel icon. While the painting of icons is part of a creative tradition taking years to learn, what is on offer here gives some insights into the heart of iconography.

The primary focus over the weekend will be the drawing and painting of a single figure, in monochrome, using egg tempera on watercolour paper. For this, there will be practical tuition in a number of areas including observational analysis of an icon, the making and use of egg tempera, and the building up of painted layers towards a final image. No previous experience is required.

Interspersed within the practice of drawing and painting will be short talks and discussions on some specific underlying principles in operation when making an icon. For example, we will consider the nature of divine light and the way in which human beings may participate in this light, while throughout referencing exemplary icons past and present.

If you have ever wanted to learn the art of painting icons, this workshop retreat will offer a hands-on opportunity to get an introduction to the concepts and practice through a guided exercise in creating your own monochrome version by the end of the third day. Come and join in!

Materials are included in the course price

About the course leader
Dr Jim Blackstone is a full time liturgical artist working as part of the Chichester Workshop for Liturgical Art. He has recently produced commissioned work for St Davids Cathedral (panel icon) and Chichester Cathedral (mosaic). He regularly teaches a group in Bethlehem.

Prior to working as an iconographer, Jim worked in a residential social setting with emotionally and behaviourally disturbed children; as a portrait painter; in a contemplative monastic community; as a teacher in London secondary schools (at St Dunstan’s College in Catford and at St Paul’s School in Barnes); in university lay chaplaincy (at Clare College, Cambridge); and as an ordained minister in the Church of England (in the Dioceses of Southwark and London), among other things. He has also published research on medieval Greek theology.

The Residential ticket #2505 ticket sales has ended!
The In person non-residential ticket #2505 ticket sales has ended!

Details

Dates & Times

04 - 06 Oct 2024
Expired!
Begins 6pm Friday, ends after lunch at 2pm Sunday

Category

Human Flourishing

Course code

2505

Other Notes

This is a weekend course with the option to participate residentially.

Residential ticket options include bed and breakfast, lunch, dinner and refreshments.

 

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

What our students say

Mark Oakley

Faith is an imaginative adventure

The Very Revd Dr Mark Oakley

I admire the work and tone of Sarum College very deeply. It is a community that takes theology and spirituality seriously, not as hobbies but as pursuits into understanding, and engaging in, a complex world.

Sarum College reminds us that faith is an imaginative adventure and that it is shaped by a questioning joy.

Vibrant approach to theology

Fr Azariah France-Williams

I’ve been particularly struck by the refreshing approach to theological education here. In a world, and indeed within parts of the church, where faith can sometimes feel stagnant or out of touch, Sarum offers a vibrant and relevant alternative. The courses encourage a bold exploration of profound ideas, connecting with truths that lie beneath the surface and fostering genuine personal growth, which feels particularly significant as I approach my 50th year. This counter-cultural spirit, which embraces depth and challenges ageism and fear, is truly remarkable. Sarum is a place where individuals can be transformed by engaging with a living and breathing faith.

 

 

Stimulating and Challenging

What is Successful Ageing? led by James Woodward

I enjoyed the course immensely from beginning to end – the seamless interweaving of knowledge, ideas and research and the linking with belief and faith.

The content was stimulating, challenging, thought provoking and I was greatly appreciative of the contributions and questions from other participants, your considered and sensitive responses and integration with your presentations.

Thank you!

 

 

Netflix, Theology and Pastoral Practice

Peter Butchers on his MA in Theology, Imagination and Culture student experience

How do cultural tropes, like those found in Black Mirror, help bridge the gap between what academic theology espouses and what the everyday Christian believes? In his research as a student on the MA in Theology, Imagination and Culture, Peter Butchers explored platonic philosophy, digital theology and eschatology, and pastoral practice around death and dying.

Read more 

Rewarding Sabbatical Stay

The Revd Greg Syler, is Rector of Ascension & St. George’s, Resurrection Parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, DC USA, spent part of his ministry sabbatical at Sarum College in spring 2022.

His account of the experience begins: ‘I loved spending nearly three weeks of my ministry sabbatical at Sarum College earlier this year.

Not only did I rest, and rest well in the comfortable care of the Sarum College staff, I experienced very significant renewal and fresh insights.’

Read more

The Road Not Taken

Sarum Graduate Mike Truman

January 2022

Five years ago, I told my Warden of Readers that I would not be renewing my licence when it expired in 2019, as I thought my faith was becoming too unorthodox for a Church of England licensed lay minister. As someone who knew me well, she challenged me to actively explore what I did still believe. Thus started the journey that ended last August with the dissertation completing my MA in Theology Imagination and Culture (MATIC) at Sarum College.

Read more 

View all courses

Rethinking Retirement?

27 November 2025

Over three sessions we shall explore the nature of retirement, what shapes or misshapes our ...

View course

Journeying Within: The Wisdom of Teresa of Avila

17 October 2025

Overnight retreat at Sarum College The structure of Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle provides us ...

View course

Poetry for Matthew’s Gospel in Advent, Christmas and Epiphany

06 November 2025

This day will draw on poetry and art to draw out the distinctiveness of Matthew's ...

View course

Worship through the Lens of Autism

09 October 2025

Autistic and non-autistic people often experience the world around them differently. For example, there may ...

View course
Sarum College logo

Get in touch

  • info@sarum.ac.uk
  • 01722 424800

Find us on maps

  • Sarum College, 19 The Close, Salisbury, SP1 2EE, UK

Stay in the know

Sign up to our newsletter

Learning

  • Prospective Students – Ways to Learn
    • Grantmaking Trusts
  • Theology, Imagination & Culture
  • Christian Spirituality
  • Bible & Sacred Texts
  • Exploring Theology
  • Human Flourishing
  • Leadership Learning
  • Spiritual Direction
  • Learning Resources
    • Grantmaking Trusts
    • SarumLearn login

Postgraduate study & research

  • Postgraduate Study in Christian Spirituality
  • Postgraduate study in Theology, Ministry and Mission
  • Library
  • SarumLearn

Ministry

  • Ordination
  • Licensed Lay Ministry / Readers
  • Independent Study
  • Parish-based pioneer ministry
  • Postgraduate Award
  • Rural ministry
  • Undergraduate Award

The College

  • About Us
  • Travel to Sarum College
  • Our People
  • Governance
  • Hospitality
  • Private Stays, Retreats, Study Breaks and Sabbaticals
  • Work with us

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy|Accessibility

© 2025 Sarum College|Registered Charity No. 1161253|Company No. 9510356|Sarum College's trading subsidiary is Sarum College Services Ltd, Company No. 1931038|Website by blue bee

Sign up to our newsletter

Fill in and submit the form below and we'll add you to our mailing list for news about Sarum College.

"*" indicates required fields

What are you interested in?

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.