Hexaemeron is very enthusiastic about adding a new dimension to our course offerings this Fall. Master embroiderer Olga Fishchuk of Kiev will teach the art of ecclesial pictorial embroidery, September 28-October 3, 2012 at Living Waters Catholic Reflection Center in Maggie Valley, NC. The course is open to eight students who possess basic skills in embroidery. If you are interested in taking this course, it is recommended that you register immediately on Hexaemeron’s website. Click here to see course details and to register.
Fishchuk is a practicing artist and a graduate of the Pictorial Embroidery Department of the Icon Painting School under the Moscow Orthodox Theological Academy (Sergiev Posad, Moscow Region, Russia). Fishchuk’s work has been shown in exhibitions in Russia, Ukraine and elsewhere, as well as in a one-woman show in Amsterdam in October 2010.
The course not only gives instruction in embroidered icons and ecclesiastical textiles, but also provides an overview of the history of ecclesiastical embroidery and an understanding of the language of icons.
This ancient art is the perfect complement to Hexaemeron’s mission to offer the highest level of training in iconography available in this hemisphere. An article by Fishchuk about her work was published in Hexaemeron’s newsletter in February of 2011. It is well worth revisiting even if you have read it previously: The Ancient Art of Ecclesiastical Embroidery. 
Overview of the Art
The history of ecclesiastical pictorial embroidery begins with the construction and furnishing of the Tabernacle in the wilderness that God commanded Moses to build. From then on, through the early centuries of Christianity, embroidered cloths were used in wоrship and for adorning the interiors of Christian churches. They were in widespread use in Byzantium, Medieval Western Europe, and ancient Russia. Ecclesiastical pictorial embroidery (or icon embroidery) replaced icon painting in situations where there was a need for a material more flexible and lightweight than wood: parts of bishops’ and priests’ vestments, podeas. shrouds, veils, covers for holy relics, mobile iconostasis, as well as banners and standards.
These pieces were made with precious materials: pure silk fabric; silk, gold and silver threads; pearls and semiprecious stones. Such materials were very expensive. Therefore ecclesiastical pictorial embroidery was an art of queens and noblewomen, who practiced it with the help of their maidens. Nowadays anyone can afford the luxury of practicing the ancient art of queens.
The course will include practical work at three levels of mastery, as well as lectures on the history of ecclesiastical pictorial embroidery. Classes will be conducted in English in a small, friendly group setting. As stated, basic embroidery skills are required for this workshop. Students will be able to start and execute the most important and difficult parts of their projects in class, then complete them at home.
Level One: mastering all the basic techniques required for ecclesiastical embroidery; execution of an ornamental motif.
Level Two: execution of an icon (angel’s face, simple method).
Level Three: execution of an icon or bookmark (saint’s face and hands with shading).
Advanced students may work on a project of their own choosing, under the instructor’s guidance.
About Olga Fishchuk
Born in the town of Zhytomir (Ukraine), Olga Fishchuk is a former journalist. She is a graduate of the Pictorial Embroidery Department of the Icon Painting School under the Moscow Orthodox Theological Academy. During her four years of study there, she participated extensively in research in museums throughout Russia, learning to create original new works in the ancient style by using the ancient technology. Since graduation, Olga has lived in Kiev, practicing ecclesiastical pictorial embroidery.Her works are in use at the Church of the Protection of Our Lady at the Moscow Orthodox Theological Academy; the Church of the Archangel Michael in Moscow; the Kievo-Pecherska Lavra and Zverynetsky Monastery in Kiev; and in many other places. In 2010 her works were displayed in a one-woman show at a gallery in Amsterdam (Netherlands).
Olga’s goal is to spur a revival of the ancient art of ecclesiastical pictorial embroidery.
Photographs of Olga’s work can be can be viewed at: http://helgaembroidery.livejournal.com/
HEXAEMERON 
4 comments
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June 6, 2012 at 2:21 pm
Janice
Congratulations on your introduction of Olga Fishchuk’s embroidery talents to an American audience. As the photographs demonstrate, her work is exquisite. This is an art that deserves to be enhanced and developed in this country. I’m confident that there will be a significant demand for her talents and her instruction when embroidery enthusiasts find out about this class and hopefully, others that will be offered in the future. I intend to ‘pass the word” to friends in all parts of the country, and I encourage others who read the newsletter to do the same.
June 6, 2012 at 3:54 pm
hexaemeron
This innaugural session in Maggie Valley (Sept 28-Oct.3) dovetails nicely with the icon painting workshop already fully rostered (Sept 30-Oct 6). Thanks for your interest. It is a noble art and very needed. I hope to purchase and donate some of Olga’s podeas for my home parish.
July 4, 2012 at 5:14 pm
tsialosgirl
I’ve been waiting ten years for this course ~ Glory to God, and thank you Hexaemeron for bringing Olga Fishchuk here to teach those of us who wish to revive Byzantine church embroidery in this country, in order to “beautify the house”.
July 4, 2012 at 6:55 pm
hexaemeron
Tsialosgirl, it is our honor to host Olga Fishchuk and to have her join our faculty. I met with her several years ago and saw her work, held her work on my lap, and marveled at its beauty. We should have brought her here years before, but I did not dream that there would be any interest in such detailed work. I underestimated my own countrymen, I mean women. By the way, we have two seats left. Please help find someone who is trying to find us but does not know how.