Our Teacher
Master Iconographer Heather MacKean
Heather MacKean, at St. Innocent's Antiochian Orthodox Church in Everson, Washington USA
Brief Biography
Canadian born, Heather converted to the Orthodox church in her early twenties and has been an iconographer in the church for over 33 years. In 1981, she attended St. Vladimir’s Seminary in Crestwood, New York to study egg tempera iconography with Helena Nikkanen. Helena is an art conservationist who was a student of the famous Russian iconographer, Leonid Ouspensky.
Heather also studied with iconographer Fr. Andrew Tregubov. Fr. Andrew is the author of “The Light of Christ – Iconography of Gregory Krug”. At various times she returned to St. Vladimir’s to study iconology (the theology and history of iconography) with Fr. Nicholas Ozolin, Professor at St. Sergius Orthodox Seminary in Paris and student of renowned art historian, Andre Grabar.
In 2001, she again returned to St. Vladimir’s Seminary to study iconology with Richard Schneider, professor emeritus of Medieval Iconology at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Professor Schneider was a student of the famous art historian, Kurt Weitzman.
In 1999 and 2000, Heather gave classes in egg-tempera technique and icon painting at the Portland Art museum in connection with the exhibit “Stroganoff – The Palace and Collections of the Russian Noble Family”. She also created a display of medieval painting techniques for their permanent collection. In the same year, Heather was one of the featured artists on ‘Oregon Art Beat’, a weekly show on OPB. See the video here.
In 2006, her work was featured in a show at the Maryhill Museum in Washington that focused on the continuing tradition of icon painting from the 17th century to the present day.
Heather’s work is in private collections throughout the United States, Canada and Great Britain. She has painted the interiors of 15 churches including: St. Andrews in Dix-Hills Long Island, St. Nicholas Orthodox Church and a portable fresco of the Panagia for t. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Portland, Oregon. In 2009 she completed the interior frescos at St. Innocent’s Antiochian Orthodox Church in Everson, Washington.
Besides painting icons, Heather MacKean travels across Canada and the United States, teaching icon painting technique and giving slide show lectures in iconology.
