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!
Images
Collot d’Herbois mural
…and blue tones lazure.
Open plan waiting room
Blackthorn Medical Centre
Church hall
Blue lazure
Work in progress on the blue side of the waiting room. The original concept from when it was last painted, probably a decade ago, was that the blue reflects the warmth and care of the nurses, whose working area is on the same side also. I think these attributes for blue, specifically cobalt, are referenced from Collot d’Herbois who describes cobalt blue as having a ‘nursing quality’ in her book ‘Light, Darkness and Colour in Painting Therapy.’
Green and turquoise bathroom
Lazure with plant pigments
This church in Chicago was host to the first English speaking seminary of The Christian Community. Previously, all training for the priesthood was in Stuttgart and Hamburg. I lazure painted with red violet and indigo blue.
Natural light
When natural light falls upon a lazure painted wall, there is a subtle fluctuation of colour. Here it is yellow ochre and English red.
Upper landing – Sussex
Counselling room
“Frost of an alien place – warmth of self-discovery.”
Herbert Witzenmann
