Highlight of the Week

Jubilee Icon completed!

At the centre of the icon is a child, just as children are at the heart of the school. The Christ-child is held tenderly by his mother, Mary, who is (John 19 v 26-27) the mother of all Christians. As she always does in the Gospel, Mary is presenting Jesus to us and to the world. St Nicholas, patron saint of children, appears next to the Virgin and Child. Together, Mary and Nicholas are the patron saints of the Woodard Schools, and the themes of motherhood (Mary) and care for children (Nicholas) make them appropriate images of Christian care and kindness to remind us of the Divine Love which surrounds us.

Beyond the three central figures we see the three Llandaff saints, Ss Teilo, Dyfrig & Euddogwy, along with St Dewi (David), the patron saint of Wales. These four figures remind us of the ancient roots of Christianity in Wales in general, and in Llandaff in particular.  St Teilo appears with his ancient Well at his feet, and with Llandaff Cathedral as a backdrop. The school chapel appears at the base of the icon, the place where the school community comes to pray and to seek the presence of Christ and the intercession and inspiration of the saints.

Artist Helen McIldowie-Jenkins says of the work:

"....It has been a privilege and a pleasure to write this icon for the revivified chapel of the Cathedral School, having experienced the warmest of welcomes and the wonderful family community of the scholol during my icon painting residency last September.

"This image is based on a Traditional Russian icon of the Mother of God and St. Nicholas. The iconographic form of the Mother of God is what is known in Greek as a 'Hodegetria' or 'She who shows the Way' (i.e., to her Son.) To personalise this commission for the school, I have composed images of the four local saints relevant to Llandaff on the borders of the icon panel. For those with very keen eyes, they might be able to find a tiny motif of a raven with a cap and a wooden leg in the tree above St Dyfrig, an ancient pre-dragon symbol for Wales!

"The icon panel is made of seasoned oak, braced and rebated, lined with linen and prepared with gesso and triple wieght 24ct gold leaf. The painting has been executed in egg tempera.

"During my icon painting residency, years 7, 10 and 11 were introduced to these traditional methods of gilding and tempera and given a basic introduction to understanding icons as a sacred art form that seeks to express the living presence of the saint or divinity represented."