Lara NeriMar 19, 20193 minSuperheroes & the Triumph of OrthodoxyThe first time I remember seeing an icon was in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. I was taking a class in Israel my sophomore year...
Lara NeriFeb 1, 20192 minSuffering & SofteningThe feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple (2 February) is one of the Twelve Major Feast Days in the Eastern Church, also...
Lara NeriJan 25, 20193 minThe Byzantine Church as MicrocosmThe interior of a Byzantine Church should be a three dimensional icon; the Church is a model of the universe, a vision of the redeemed, a...
Lara NeriJan 17, 20194 minHow is iconography different from other religious art?One Sunday after liturgy, I overheard a visitor to our church commenting on the iconography, “Why do the figures look so strange? They...
Lara NeriJul 26, 20162 minart camps: pursuing Beauty togetherTwo intensive weeks of art camps have come to an end, and I am thankful for the experience. I kept enrollment to four students per camp...
Lara NeriJul 6, 20162 miniconography: window to the DivineI have just returned from a beautiful, powerful, intense experience where art and prayer were indistinguishable. I have come away with a...
Lara NeriJul 5, 20161 minlove despite uglinessToday at our last elementary art camp we read Beauty and the Beast – the classic fairytale that speaks of the great sacrifice required by...
Lara NeriJun 22, 20161 minrebirth & regeneration: the image of the snakeToday in our third Tuesday of elementary art camp, we read Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, an African fairytale about a prince who...
Lara NeriMay 9, 20161 minthe transformative power of storyVarious influences were dropped into my path that lead me into the Catholic Church, one of the most prominent being the work of Fyodor...
Lara NeriMay 6, 20162 minthe feast of the AscensionI love this quiet, mid-week feast day celebrating Christ's rising up to Heaven in His resurrected body. He leaves us with the commission...
Lara NeriApr 26, 20162 mincreating a sacred space in the homeWhen I was living in St. Petersburg, I rented a small, airy room in a sunny, high-ceilinged apartment on the corner of Dostoevsky Street...