Iconography with Suzanne Schleck

About the Instructor

Suzanne Schleck of Whiting, NJ, returns for her 17th year of teaching icon painting at Kanuga. She is a retired public school art teacher who has been learning to paint icons for the past 32 years, studying longest (and with much gratitude) with the Rev. John Walsted. She has also had the opportunity to take workshops with Robert Lentz, the Prosopon School, Hexameron and the Rev. Peter Pearson, and each was a blessing. Suzanne has taught workshops and given talks primarily on the east coast since retirement, including at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, VA, Trinity Wall Street, and her own parish, Christ Episcopal Church in Toms River, NJ. Her icons hang in churches and private homes around the country. She lives in Whiting with her husband, George, and has two grown children. Suzanne recently completed four large icons of local saints for St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Salisbury, NC as a part of its Becoming Beloved Community program.

A Parable of Hope

Enjoy the beauty of Kanuga while painting an icon with retreat leader, Suzanne Schleck. Using the ancient medium of egg tempera we will paint sacred images in layers, working from the darkest foundational colors to the very lightest, alternating light and color. As layer upon layer of light is added, a face emerges from the darkness, and we see that in both form and content an icon is a parable of hope.

Our retreat includes daily Eucharist, blessing of our hands, Noonday prayer and Evening prayer, silence, and times for exploring the grounds and sitting together for great conversation.

Both beginners and more experienced iconographers will find this a rewarding experience.