3 Mothers - Icon of Hospitality

This triptych commissioned by the Bishop of London, depicts three smiling women from the congregation of St John on Bethnal Green Church, seated around a table.

The women  reflect the diverse nature of the congregation at St John's as well as the local East End community.

Each woman is a wife, mother, and grandmother, a person of faith and a committed hard working member of their church, something I wanted to celebrate. The three women also symbolise in part the important role of women – particularly older women – in the Church of England.

The opened hand of Mother Pearl is held out to greet the viewer to the table, a place of fellowship and hospitality while Mother Becky and Mother Miriam look on. What offering do you the viewer bring to the table?  The stars on the table cloth symbolise the many descendants of Abraham.  The colours the three women wear represent the Christian liturgical seasons and the gold leaf a belief in the 'sainthood of all believers.'

Prints of the 3 Mothers are available here

Saint George and the Dragon

This icon was a challenge to write. Saint George's Bloomsbury a church designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor was reopened to the public in 2006 following a 5 year restoration. As part of the celebrations of reopening the Vicar and Church Council wanted to commission an icon which reflected the ministry of Saint George's in the heart of the West End. I visited the church on a number of occasions and met with church members to gain an understanding of life at Saint George's. Eventually a design was agreed.

In the icon there are a number of interesting components. Dressed rather casually rather than as a knight or soldier Saint George is riding his horse down Bloomsbury Way. At the bus stop outside the church Saint George encounters a dragon in the gutter. However he doesn't set out to kill this dragon but rather offers up a garland of flowers. The dragon in Christian art is a symbol of the enemy and something that needs to be destroyed but here Saint George seeks to meet  with this strange creature and to learn from it. The stranger the other‚ the foreigner‚ the person of difference are boogeymen in the minds of many. In this icon hospitality and pastoral care are shown as an important part of Saint George's ministry. Whether it is shown to people living on the fringe of society, the homeless or the drinkers that meet on the steps of the church, hence the empty beer cans on the pavement, or to the Churches many visitors and tourists passing by, the Church wanted an icon that reflected an inclusive ministry. Even the news agents next door the finest purveyors of the latest VIZ comics‚ is included to show that Saint George Bloomsbury is found in the midst of one of the most cosmopolitan and diverse city's in the world. The dragon is not to be feared here but rather the powerful scary looking horse upon which Saint George rides. A symbol of faith upon which Christians are carried, when the reigns are loosened faith will take a believer to unknown places to experience new challenges and learn new lessons. Faith requires the faithful to be courageous and step outside his or her comfort zones. A frightening challenge indeed!

Saint Saviour

 I am based in a studio at Saint Saviour's Church Pimlico. Last year the Church Council commissioned me to write an icon for the church and it was completed and dedicated this Easter.  Here is a description of the icon.

The nails of the crucifixion are being carried off by the rose vine. They no longer pierce and maim but are being transformed by the creative power of the Divine.  The arch is based on the front entrance of Saint Saviour's Church. In this icon it is the entrance to the tomb.  Above Jesus's head is a crown of thorns which has also been redeemed. Jesus's hands are held out as if to say "look these hands which have been stretched and deformed by torture still bear the marks of that torture".  In the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene goes to embrace the risen Jesus when she recognises him outside the tomb. He says to her " Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father". I understand this as meaning Jesus is still in a period of transition. The flowing patterns or Koru on his robes begin to show the change from linear masculine lines of dogma to creative shapes and patterns more associated with the feminine. A balance between the two states of being reflecting the true likeness of God.