The look of trust that he has not forgotten us Jesus - the Gentle Shepherd; the moving testimony of strong faith and friendship in the icon Resurrection of Lazarus; both humble and triumphant Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem; the humble silence of The non-roding fig; unjust and incomprehensible even now betrayal of Jesus-Love; The Last Supper and the parting of Christ from his disciples; shrouded in the evening gloaming - which was also mourning - Prayer; The road the unjust and unrighteous and weeping to the ground of Crosses; the springing of the first icon in Veronica's Mahrama; the broken weeping of the Blessed Virgin under the arms of the Cross; the Redeemer Resurrection; the gentle dojană of Thomas, in the „upper gazebo” on Zion, are just some of the icons of children from the painting workshop „Wings in bloom” in Rădăuți, which recently opened their exhibition Flowers under the resurrection light, at the „Traian Postolache” Art Gallery in the municipality.
Among the 39 works in the gallery of little springs of Heaven set in color, there are also 13 paintings that speak of beauty and color and love of people and God's creation, all hidden in the Flowers. Over-blooming poppies with purple cheeks, placed on the canvas „for the sake of Răzvan's mother”; submissive and humble daisies - corollas of tiny petals loved by kings, signifying innocence, purity, esteem, mutual trust and unbreakable friendship; blushing roses or those that gather their color from the sun, the undeniable embodiment of undying love; aristocratic orchids, undaunted by the heat of the day or by a dwarf breeze; fragile, multicolored pansies, the flowers of optimism; daffodils - flowers of repeated spring and of self-esteem; violets, the flowers of spring's renewal, but also of the sorrows of this time of year and of the triumph of love; or the violet, the flower we call the viorica, the flower of gentleness, sincerity and trust.
The little artists, aged between 7 and 16, confess that painting is for them peace, prayer and joy. They told us, with the whole of the heavens in their faces, that each painting is a fulfillment for them and that they paint with their souls singing. And we also felt that this is true and that their art is both blessing and healing, when we met Ioana, a young woman who does art therapy at the workshop. Icons and paintings that call the soul home to come alive! Their art teacher, Viorica Bordianu, assumes - together with her younger friends - a creed that we also find in Love Poem, from the volume of poems he is signing, Oath of Heaven, published at Opera Magna, Iași, 2017: „And I learned, as a child, from my mother's advice/For to love Him all my life without ceasing/To love the good God, worshipping the icons/To carry in my mind and feelings the faith of the altars.”
The beauty was spread quietly among us, those invited to the opening, and we shared, in turn, the belief that each icon is a slice of Heaven hidden in color. This was also the belief of Fr. Vasile Demciuc, eparchial counselor at the Monuments, Patrimony and Church Architecture Sector of the Archdiocese of Suceava and Rădăuților, who also added new depth to the thought: „the effort of the spiritual ascent is visible here, of the gradual approach to what is beautiful, to what gives us strength and confidence that this life of ours is not in vain, the approach to the Resurrection of Christ.”
The conviction of Father Protosinghel Irineu Lichi is reinforced by each small work of art: „It is well known that God's most beautiful gifts are children. These gifts must be very carefully protected and cared for, and those who can do it are the Family, the Church and the School, in gratitude that we are a nation blessed by God.”
I also invited my youngest friends, little artists, to „cuminecare” in the joy of their fulfillment. As I watched and listened to them, I was reminded of the imprescriptible truth once evoked by His Eminence Archbishop Calinic: „The child is an icon painted by parents. (...) A child does not feel the lack of material values so much as the lack of a good, skillful, gentle teacher who can form and educate him. As the first teachers, parents are called upon to teach their children the virtues: temperance, vigilance, constant prayer. And they are also addressed to them with the same earnest patristic exhortation: If you love your child, show it by the education you give him.” (Family and philanthropy - two divine-human institutions, Ed. Crimca, 2020)
And the parents of these children prove that they love their daughters and sons. Most of the children come to the workshop from the villages of Suceava and nothing could stop them from being there week after week together. What's more, from time to time, they also bring their parents and friends together, convinced that icon-painting is the secret to a more beautiful and better world.
Children and icons. Flowers under the Resurrection Light!
