From the diary: Kirov

lazure in Kirov
For a few weeks in 2001, I was voluntary lazure painting in Kirov, Russia. It was in a State Orphanage that accommodated up to seventy children aged 4-5 years. The photo (two together for a better view) is from a section of the entrance area but we also managed to lazure the corridors leading to the bedrooms.
When the work was finished, the staff organised a tea party and I was given cards drawn by the children and a couple of beautifully crafted gifts. Later, when music started playing, a cute little girl took me by the hand and led me to the front to dance…I still blush when I think about it!

White Angel Icon

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A 1222-1228 icon from the Mileseva Monastery in Serbia showing the Angel, dressed in white, who greeted the Myrrh-bearing women when they came to Christ’s tomb. Sitting calmly, the Angel of the Resurrection points out the empty tomb to the holy women, who withdrew in terror on beholding the sight. He then commanded them to tell the disciples that the Lord is risen from the dead. This famous icon is from a wall painting called in that monastery “The Holy Women at the Tomb.”

The lazure is raw sienna.