Karen Blampied

A FORMER teacher is in the process of creating an icon for each of the 12 parish saints of Jersey.

Iconographer Karen Blampied, who has worked locally teaching both art and religious education, set herself the challenge of designing and then writing the 12 icons after being forced to retire early from teaching.

The finished icons will be on display in a special exhibition in December and each parish is being given first refusal to buy their icon.

Islanders will also get the chance to see the religious works of art being created, as Miss Blampied will be working her way around the parish churches as artist in residence over the next few months.

Miss Blampied, who has been painting icons since the early 1980s, has spent the last five summers in Scotland being taught the very specific skills needed to create icons by a Benedictine nun.

The finished icons will be on display in a special exhibition between 2 and 19 December at the All Saints Church