The Icon Gallery is located here on this website under “store”
and at the Trinity House Cafe:
101 E. Market St., Leesburg VA 20176
Look for our seasonal sales at the Trinity House Cafe
Contact Colette Kalvesmaki for more information or to order an icon.
Colette Kalvesmaki, Iconographer, Art Restorer, DirectorColette M. Kalvesmaki is trained in the tradition of Byzantine-Russian iconography. She uses traditional materials such as egg tempera, gold on fine woods for panel icons as well as fresco for wall finishes. She graduated with a BA in Classical Archaeology in 1989 from the University of California, Santa Barbara and worked as an archaeologist in America and Greece before returning to school to receive a Masters in Theology from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in 1993. She moved to Massachusetts to study intensively for three years under the renowned Russian iconographer Ksenia Pokrovsky. While in Boston, Colette was also trained as an art restorer with Treffler and Sons Art Restoration Studios and in recent years has trained in the Buon Fresco Academy of Wall Artistry, expanding her abilities to a variety of wall finishes.
Colette started The Center for Byzantine Material Arts in Virginia in 2014 and continues to paint, teach and lecture for various Churches, Museums and Universities. Her work can be found in formal exhibits, churches and private collections in America and internationally.
In the media:
Manesis Vasileios, IconographerFinishing my military service in 1991 I attended private schools and painting workshops. Then I was taught by the painter and hagiographer Iraklis Tsagas. Later we worked together for years in various temples. For the last 10 years I have been working alone and my works are in the historic monastery of Hosios Loukas, churches and monasteries in Athens,Viotia, Chalkida and the Greek church in Oslo, Norway.
I am a member of the Chamber of Fine Arts of Greece and I have taken part in hagiography exhibitions. In 2017, the inter-parliamentary Orthodox assembly in an icon painting competition on “THE RENEWAL OF JESUS” chose me and some other hagiographers to create the new icon.
I follow the Byzantine style faithfully and make the portable icons with the traditional method (wood preparation, egg-white, gold). I also know the technique of polished and wrought gold. After 25 years of experience in the field, I continue to learn the secrets of the art of hagiography.
Website: http://www.agiografos-manesisb.gr
John B. Hume, Tilist
Following a 16-year career in construction, John and Lynn Hume founded the Sligo Creek Tile Company of Takoma Park, Maryland, in 1997. The tile company designs and produces original gift and architectural and religious ceramic products that are distributed through eastern-U.S. retail outlets such as the Center for Byzantine Material Arts and the internet at sligocreek.com.
Wayne Hajos, IconographerWayne Hajos, a self-taught artist, remembers drawing and studying art at a very young age. By adolescence he was painting in the impressionistic style in oil inspired by Monet and Renoir. Wayne discovered iconography in the 1980s through his study of the early Christian Church. He was strongly drawn to the spiritual path of iconography and the challenge to portray scriptural and spiritual truth with color, line, form and symbol. For the past 25 years, Wayne has studied iconography and developed his skills by learning intently under the instruction of various teachers. His icons are found in private collections, offices and church interiors in the United States and Russia. Wayne paints in Russo-Byzantine style working in acrylic and egg tempera using traditional byzantine techniques on wood panels, canvas and murals.
Wayne is committed to teaching iconography and regularly holds icon workshops for all levels. He makes presentations in churches and educational settings about iconography techniques, theology and history. To learn more about Wayne visit his website at http://waynehajos.com/
An image done by Wayne and an article by Fr. Lawrence Lew-http://lawrenceop.tumblr.com/post/133111159814/today-i-came-across-a-good-article-well-worth
Katherine Quan, Graphic Designer, Iconography Student and IlluminatorKatherine worked as a senior packaging designer for Mattel Toys in Los Angeles and Shell Oil in Houston for several years before relocating to Washington to pursue a Master’s degree in Theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute. She is also a freelance graphic designer and is studying iconography under the direction of Colette Kalvesmaki.
R. C. Focseneanu, Romanian Reversed Glass Iconography
Rodica Focseneanu and Christopher Cunningham work together as iconographers under the name of R. C. Focseneanu. Rodica Focseneanu was born in Bucharest, Romania, and earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of Fine Arts, Bucharest in 1997, with an emphasis on stage set design, costume design and painting. In 2004 she obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from the University of New Mexico. She has been painting icons for 26 years. In 1989, her great aunt, who was also an artist, quietly taught her the old techniques of painting reversed glass icons, that she had learned as an art student before communism. She has been painting the traditional patterns until 2004, when her and Christopher Cunningham began researching canons for writing new patterns of icons on glass that embodied the tradition behind Romanian glass iconography, that blend with the aspects of Romanian tradition.
Christopher Cunningham earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Oklahoma City University in 1996. He did extensive research in art and art history in the U.S. and abroad, and in 2004 he earned his Master’s of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from the University of New Mexico.
Visit their website at http://www.iconsbyrc.com/
Richard Christin, Architect, CarverRichard Christin is trained as an architect, painter and sculptor. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture from Catholic University in Washington, DC in 1988. As a sculptor, he works in clay, stone and wood. Inspired by the bas-relief sculptures found at cathedrals he visited in Europe, he started carving subjects in bas-relief. In 2009, after attending a workshop at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, he decided to devote his artistic efforts in studying iconography and is actively engaged in reviving the ancient art of carving icons in both wood and stone. His work can be found in churches in both the US and Russia. Since joining The Center for Byzantine Material Arts in Virginia 2014 he can be found carving icons at the Leesburg location and plans to give his first class at The Center for Byzantine Material Arts (to be announced soon).