If you’re looking for a unique and meaningful art form, look no further than Byzantine style Iconography with Egg Tempera. Icons by Mary Jane Miller require 40-100 hours of dedicated technical expertise and prayer, slowly building semi-transparent coats of earth pigment. For her this process is not just peaceful, it’s a spiritual experience that connects ... Read More about Pay what you Will, Icons by Mary Jane Miller ..read more

While searching the internet for an iconography workshop, I discovered Mary Jane’s work. I have been drawn to sacred art and its effect on the psyche for many years through my research interests. Mary Jane’s icons communicated a distinctive softness and her bold creative approach to contemporary iconography caught my interest. To me, the blend ... Read More about Miller’s teaching Style and Passion for Iconography ..read more

Mary wears a white headscarf and an iridescent green robe. In this contemporary Magdalene Iconography her right hand holds the Eucharistic elements. She become a teacher and deacon in service. She is not a woman of loose morals or a prostitute, an idea long since rejected by most scripture scholars. Her in this contemporary Magdalene ... Read More about Magnificent Contemporary Magdalene Iconography ..read more

From November to January, societies around the globe observe ten holidays that deal with themes of darkness and the return of the light, beginning with the Hindu holiday of Diwali and ending with Chinese New Year. Advent, Hanukkah, St. Lucia Day, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Epiphany, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve all point to the light. ... Read More about Seek the Light in the coming year 2024  ..read more

Tucked away in the colonia, a short distance from the historic downtown area of San Miguel Allende is a jewel of a studio not to be missed.  The studio is surrounded by a natural garden of native plants and birds, slightly wild and disorganized. Large windows look out on quiet space. It is a pure ... Read More about How I got Here and why I stayed ..read more

The image of Mary, her voice, and her message get lost in the shuffle of our busy lives and emotions. This year we could take time to reflect on the importance of being changed, and allow ourselves to be filled with an ancient brilliance that has been here for 2,000 years.  She lives at the ... Read More about Christmas, A Season of New Beginnings ..read more

When you witness and contemplate an icon, you may be curious. Why and how did these early iconographers depict creation, men, birds, animals, demons, and the heavens in such an abstract way? They try to depict the spiritual world as it exists both seen and unseen. Byzantine Icons, their history, symbolism, and meaning are mapped ... Read More about Byzantine Icons: their History, Symbolism, and Meaning ..read more

The sacrament called the Eucharist has maintained its integrity through wars, injustice, chaos, societal change, and criticism. Contemporary Christians touch history each time they participate; love and affection for humanity is wrapped in ancient mystery. The sacrament of Eucharist is outside time and space, it’s message can only be experienced. The presence of something greater ... Read More about Remarkable Communion and Contemporary Christian Art ..read more

Jesus arrives at Jacob’s well to find a Samaritan Woman named Photini. In the first century, anyone living in the desert knew wells were essential for survival. At this particular well, Jacob found not one but two wives and two maidservants who bore him children. In ancient times the well was where men went to ... Read More about A Samaritan Woman named Photini is Flirting with God ..read more

By Mary Jane Miller, Iconographer I have been a practicing Christian all my life and half of that time dedicated to the discipline of painting (writing) icons. Biblical text, liturgy, and prayer are my source of strength and comfort, just like millions of people around the world. My observations about Women in Sacred Christian Images have ... Read More about Women in Sacred Christian Images ..read more