Nika Icons

04/12/2026

Christ is Risen!
Truly He is Risen!

Blessed Pascha 2026! We have met Risen Christ at the night service with our whole family of 5:) Baby Xenia slept the whole time and woke up in time for communion and the feast:) Older kids did well, I hardly saw them until the end of the service.

Ask me in the comments of you want to know what I did to keep baby sleeping in the church stuffed with people to the maximum.

Blessed feasting to all! We have to celebrate now for 40 days!

04/05/2026

Opening up Holy Week with baby Xenia’s baptism.

03/31/2026

03/23/2026

Churching for my little Xenia 8.03.2026

Glory to God she is here! I still in awe about the fact that we get to experience life with little humans right from the beginning, when they are so little. A Miracle!

01/21/2026

Icon of Christ as seen in the wedding pair from previous post. I painted this one about 1.5 years ago on commission.
15x20cm
Linden board with oak braces
Natural pigments
Handmade egg tempera
Olifa finish
Genuine 23.5 K Gold Leaf

Get on the waitlist for 2027-2028 commissions after my return from maternity leave.

10/01/2025

We have news for all my followers and commissioners. We are expecting a baby in January 2026.
Our third and rainbow child who is so alive and present in my body and my soul. Our family is delighted and in anticipation.

Arrival of this baby will not affect my online teaching work too much and my present booked commissions I will be able to finish before the big day, God willing.

Future icon commissions will be booked starting from September 2026 onwards. I already have a waiting list to contact. If you want to be a bed on it, don’t hesitate to contact me.

God help.

09/20/2025

As I am teaching icon painting courses for school age kids, I stress the importance of line work for iconographer. Lines can communicate the truth in full, leaving almost secondary role for colours.

Here you can see the beginning of a pair of wedding icons. Some orthodox couple have the icons with them during their church wedding ceremony, and parents bless them with icons for their married life. These icons will then go to one of the children for their wedding day and so forth. If you haven’t done this for yourself, you can order two matching icons like this for your prayer corner any time afterwards.

Do you have this tradition in your parish?

07/26/2025

Icon of Saint Panteleimon the Great Martyr 15x20cm

Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon is commemorated on July 27.

He is venerated in the Orthodox Church as a mighty saint, and the protector of soldiers. This aspect of his veneration is derived from his first name Pantoleon, which means “a lion in everything”. His second name, Panteleimon, given him at Baptism, which means “all-merciful”, is manifest in the veneration of the martyr as a healer. The connection between these two aspects of the saint is readily apparent in that soldiers, receiving wounds more frequently than others, are more in need of a physician-healer. Christians waging spiritual warfare also have recourse to this saint, asking him to heal their spiritual wounds.

The holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon is invoked in the Mystery of Anointing the Sick, at the Blessing of Water, and in the Prayers for the Sick.

07/21/2025

We just got back from family holiday/pilgrimage to Birchdale BC where at Saint John in the Wilderness sanctuary Orthodox Priest and his wife building Byzantine stone chapel. They got a church designed by Andrew Gould and slowly building it, using materials that they have on site, from local mountains.
Birchdale has been our family destination for 10 years, and previously visited and loved by my husband alone.
Right now they are learning ancient methods of working with stone and have a foundation ready to start building.
This community is very warm and welcoming, but requires an effort to get to- boat access only (my favourite part).

That if you want to bring your icons with you on the trip you need to protect them from elements.

Saint Augustine icon that I painted last year was ordered in two sizes- for the prayer corner and for travelling. I include special travelling bag that protects it from the scratches and moisture.

All hand size icons - 8X10cm or whereabouts come with a small embroidered bag. Even though I have a lineup for commission that stretches into 2027, I can still paint small icons without the gold leaf in between. Just so you know.

05/07/2025

15x20cm icon of Saint Justin the Philosopher, done on commission.

He is celebrated on June 1st by the Orthodox Church.

You emptied the cup of the wisdom of the Greeks,
but you thirsted again, until you came to the well where you found water springing unto eternal life.
And having drunk deeply, you also drank from the cup which Christ gave to His disciples.
Therefore, O Justin,
we praise you as a Philosopher and Martyr of Christ.

☦️