The 2008 Icon Calendar from Conciliar Press features four contemporary Antiochian iconographers from North America:
Diane Plaskon Koory, Heather Sommer, Erin Kimmett, and Fr. Paul Albert.
11" X 12" full-color calendar. Features large calendar boxes (1-3/8" X 1-3/4") for recording your important date reminders. Major saint and feast days traditionally celebrated in Orthodox countries around the world are listed (dates are according to the new calendar).
Icongographers and icons used in the calendar:
January:
The Thophany of our Lord, icon by Erin Kimmett
February:
Christ Walking on the Water, icon by Diane Plaskon Koory
March:
The Annunciation, icon by Heather Sommer
April: Saint George and the Dragon, and The Archangel Michael,
icons by Diane Plaskon Koory
May:
Christ Our Savior, icon by Heather Sommer
June:
Synaxis of Antiochian Saints, icon by Diane Plaskon Koory
July:
Saint Joseph of Damascus, icon by Fr. Paul Albert
August:
Noah's Ark, icon by Erin Kimmett
September:
Saints Joachim and Anna with the Theotokos, icon by Erin Kimmett
October:
Archangel Michael, icon by Fr. Paul Albert
November:
Saint Raphael (Hawaweeny) of Brooklyn, icon by Fr. Paul Albert
December:
Sweet Kissing, icon by Heather Sommer
Biographical and contact information for each of the four featured iconographers:
ERIN KIMMETT
Erin Kimmett was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas, where she called Saint George Cathedral home. She is a graduate of Wichita State University and holds a BFA in graphic design. After graduation, Erin returned to her alma mater, WSU, where she worked for nearly a decade, first as graphic designer and eventually as Director of Publications.
But Erin’s dream was really to find a way of combining her faith and her work. In 1991 she was introduced to iconography as a sacred art and believed that this was to be her path. As her own parish was being adorned by Byzantine iconographer, Fr. Gregory George (now Bishop Greg-ory), Erin spent as much time as she could learning from this master. Eventually, a trip to Dormition Skete in Buena Vista, Colorado, proved necessary to provide the kind of intensive training required to learn this sacred art.
Fifteen years later, married to Very Rev. Joseph Kimmett and mother of two boys, Nicholas (11) and Zachary (8), Erin has written icons for many Orthodox churches and individuals throughout the United States. Her background in graphic design and publications has allowed her to work on the development of Christian education materials for both the Orthodox Christian Education Commission and the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese. Additionally, with a passion for nurturing young people in the faith, Erin finds great joy in teaching Iconography Camp at the Antiochian Village. Erin also owns the Annunciation Press of Norwood, Massachusetts, where she sells reproductions of her icons and various icon-related products.
contact information:
email:
website: www.apicons.com
studio location: Norwood, Massachusetts
phone: 781-775-0789
HEATHER SOMMER
Khouria Heather Sommer is the wife of Father David Sommer and the mother of three, soon to be four, energetic children. Her parents, also lovers of the Orthodox Christian arts, encouraged her to attend her first serious icon-painting workshop at age 15. From that point, Heather has tried to nurture her natural interest in iconography while juggling her busy role as a homeschooling mother.
Heather studied iconography for three years under Ivan Rumantsev while her husband attended Saint Tikhon Seminary, and continues to work under Heather Mackean of Bellingham, Washington. She deeply enjoys working with natural materials whenever she is able, making her own gesso (primer) and varnish, as well as mixing her own pigments. Khouria Heather’s desire is that the icons she paints inspire the viewer to prayer and bring glory to God.
The Sommer family lives in Snohomish, Washington, and serves Saint Thomas Antiochian Orthodox Mission.
contact information:
email:
website: none
studio location: Snohomish, Washington
phone: 360-563-1010
V. REV. PAUL ALBERT
Fr. Paul Albert’s undergraduate studies trained him in both music and graphic/fine arts. While in college in the early 1970s, he spent a summer in London, England, working in production graphics. He studied calligraphic design with Lenore Cady and also studied Celtic Gospel illumination under Mark Van Stone of the Boston Museum of Art. This particular study revealed to him the close interconnectedness in ancient times between the artisans of the Mediterranean peoples and those of the West, particularly in Ireland, Scotland, and England. Although his iconographic style is “Byzantine,” he continues to develop a synergistic approach to the varied sacred traditions pertaining to the decorative arts.
After several years’ activity within the commercial art arena, he developed and disciplined his hand in the ancient art of egg-tempera painting. As a member of the St. John of Damascus Iconographers’ Guild during the 1980s and beyond, Fr. Paul continued to become proficient in various media of sacred art, including painted and carved icons, and the spatial design of sacred worship space in the Orthodox Church. He designed the Chapel of Ss. Peter & Paul at Antiochian Village, and has completed icon projects which include the outdoor shrines at St. George Antiochian Cemetery in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, and the shrine at the grave of St. Raphael at Antiochian Village. He has completed canvas wall-icon commissions for churches in the Northeast, and has also been commissioned to do numerous panel icons for families, individuals, and churches for over 20 years.
The V. Rev. Fr. Paul is an archpriest in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, serving St. Elias Church in Sylvania, Ohio. Married for 28 years to Kh. Rosemary, he has four children: Laura, Gregory, Antony, and Michael.
contact information:
email:
website: none
studio location: Sylvania, Ohio
phone: 419-882-6679
DIANE PLASKON KOORY
Diane was born in Detroit, Michigan. She comes from a Slavic, Carpatho-Russian background. She was baptized and received chrismation in her family’s Greek-rite Catholic Church and was raised in and attended the Roman Catholic Church. In 1971, Diane received chrismation in the Antiochian Othodox Church, the Church of her husband’s family, and since that time has embraced the Orthodox faith as her own. She has a BA and MA in Education from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, and a BFA cum laude from the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit.
Diane’s interest in iconography began with her fascination with the differences between icons and Christian art. She has taken several classes with Philip Zimmerman, at St. John Art Academy in Pennsylvania. She has also taken classes from the Prosopon School of Iconology and Xenia Pokrovky. The tradition of writing an icon is very important to an iconographer, and Diane has traveled extensively to study traditional icons from other countries. She has a studio adjacent to St. George Orthodox Church, Troy, Michigan.
In addition to writing individual icons, she has many icons in churches throughout the United States as well as at the Midwest Chancery of the Antiochian Orthodox Church. In 2003 she had a one-person show at the Saginaw Art Museum titled “Windows to Heaven.” She has given many lectures on icons, Christian art, and the history of icons to many Orthodox and non-Orthodox churches.
contact information:
email:
website: none
studio location: St. George Orthodox Church, Troy, Michigan
phone: 248-396-0362
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