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Sacred Resonance: Icons as Windows Between Worlds
May 3, 2025 @ 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Free
An Afternoon with Icon Writer Melissa Moss at the Gurdjieff Foundation of Western North Carolina
The Gurdjieff Foundation of Western North Carolina invites you to a special gathering featuring traditional icon writer Melissa Moss. This presentation explores the ancient practice of icon writing as a form of sacred meditation and a bridge between the visible and invisible realms.
The exhibition takes place on Saturday, May 3 from 1-5 pm at the Gurdjieff Foundation of Western North Carolina, 4 Richmond Ave, Asheville, NC 28806, with Melissa’s talk between 3-4pm. The exhibition will continue on Sunday, May 4 from 12-4 PM.
Icons have served as spiritual tools for centuries, inviting viewers into contemplative states beyond ordinary consciousness. As Melissa explains, “Icons can be instruments for the transmission of faith. Some people consider iconography to be the 5th gospel, a translation of scripture rather than ‘art,’ although the translation is in imagery rather than the written word.”
Through this presentation, participants will:
Witness the techniques and materials of traditional icon writing
Explore how icons function as “windows into heaven”
Learn how the practice of icon writing involves “praying with each brushstroke,” creating a unique form of meditation
Experience a collection of Melissa’s completed icons
After Melissa’s talk, there will be a showing of a short video of a talk by Icon scholar Richard Temple, from the recent Harvard Divinity School conference on Gurdjieff. In ‘Icons are Cosmic Diagrams,’ Temple offers a meditation on how icons illustrate “the energetic encounter of the higher and lower forces” in the human being, with their balanced compositions reflecting the inner harmony of their creators in ways that illustrate the principles of both Christian mysticism and the Gurdjieff Work.
Gallery Exhibition and Purchase Opportunity:
Visitors will have the opportunity to view a gallery display of Melissa’s original icons; these sacred works will be available for purchase. Additionally, greeting cards featuring Melissa’s icons will be available for purchase in beautifully presented boxed sets, making them perfect gifts for those interested in spiritual imagery.
The talk offers a rare opportunity to understand how ancient spiritual practices can speak to contemporary seekers. As we explore icons as windows between worlds, we may discover new ways of seeing—both outwardly and within ourselves.
No prior knowledge of liturgical Christian traditions or Gurdjieff’s ideas is required.
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