8 years writing at St. Seraphim Cathedral (OCA)

Nice story about iconographer writing icons for St. Seraphim Orthodox Cathedral (OCA) in Dallas, TX for 8 years. There is also a short video of the interview here. If you're ever in town I highly recommend a visit not only to the cathedral itself, but also to the excellent bookstore. Very nice people, some stories I've heard to the contrary, they have been nice to my Greek Catholic family when we drop by for books, icons, censers, etc.

By ROY APPLETON - (The Dallas Morning News) Stroke by steady stroke, Vladimir Grigorenko (here's his website) spreads a subtle green
near two sandaled feet. "This is the prophet Zechariah," he says,
looking up at the robed and bearded likeness on the wall.

Standing on a metal scaffold, light streaming through window panes of
beaded glass, he checks his work with a straightedge – "It's better
to be precise" – and brushes on.

"Eight years is enough time for me," says Vladimir the iconographer.

Mr. Grigorenko came to Dallas from his native Ukraine to paint
religious images inside St. Seraphim's new cathedral on Wycliff
Avenue.

Church leaders hired him to create icons for a wooden screen that
stands in front of the altar. And in April 2000, he arrived with
sketchy English and a fervent Christian faith to undertake what
became a yearlong project. "I had in mind I would go back to
Ukraine," he says.

But once the screen was done – depicting Jesus, Mary, saints and
disciples – the cathedral's white walls and ceiling stood obviously
bare.

And Mr. Grigorenko was asked to continue his work and take on a
canvas of plastered drywall. He figured the challenge would take two
years or so.

Since then, the wiry artist has been at it six days a week, eight to
10 hours a day, grinding pigment stones, producing colors, climbing
scaffolds and glorifying his Dallas church with Christian scenes and
figures.

"The most important concept here was to represent the story of
Christ," he says, standing beneath his artistic vision, his bearded
face void of emotion.

About 200 figures grace the sanctuary in a soft, sometimes-glowing
display of reds and browns, blues and greens, tans and golds. Saints,
missionaries and biblical figures cover walls. Murals overhead
present important events in the life of Jesus – from the nativity and
baptism to the crucifixion and resurrection.

"And here is the image of God the creator," says Mr. Grigorenko,
pointing skyward to his Jesus, dominating the cupola ceiling, ringed
by words from Psalm 102:

"For He hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from
heaven did the Lord behold the earth; ... to loose those that are
appointed to death."

Schooled in mechanical engineering and employed for a while in the
study of coal extraction, Mr. Grigorenko was moved more by art. An
atheist, he ventured into secular landscapes and abstracts before
finding a calling in iconography – the painting of religious images
in what he has called the revelation of "the ultimate truth about God
and man."

"Trying to find the universal or real art, I came to church art," Mr.
Grigorenko says. "And the icons brought me to the church and to
Christ."

Eight years after he came to Dallas, Mr. Grigorenko, 43, is nearing
the final strokes on a job that has drawn rave reviews.

"To have these icons in the church is a tremendous blessing," said
Father John Anderson, associate priest of the 500-member St. Seraphim
congregation, which will celebrate the completion in June.

"It's sad that it's ending," he said of the $600,000 project that ran
longer than expected. No problem, he said. "It takes a while to
create masterpieces."

Mr. Grigorenko, his wife, Olga, and their three children have found a
spiritual home at St. Seraphim. The iconographer says he hopes to
land other church-art commissions in the Dallas area and build on his
accomplishment.

"It was a wonderful opportunity to finish the whole church with my
own hands," he says.

A critique?

"I feel good about the work. The project is successful," he says
point-blank. "But I have nothing to be proud of.

"The project is a work of God and me. He chose me, and I fulfilled
his wish."