About a month and a half ago, Pelagia and I went to the small Serbian church in downtown Thessaloniki to celebrate the feast of St. Sava. Among the many wonderful people there, we met one Serbian iconographer who has his own workshop in Thessaloniki. My Serbian friends have been telling me ever since to go by and visit, so I finally did today while I was in town for Ancient Greek class.
The iconographer, Zlatko, is considered a 'master.' I don't know anything about iconography other than what I like, and I *really* like his work. I only stopped in for a quick visit and to get some pricing information in order to possibly order an icon for someone in the US, but--with typical Serbian hospitality--he insisted on stopping everything he was doing and giving me a tour of his workshop. He then sat me down with the customary slivovitz (Serbian plum-flavored hard alcohol) and told me some stories about miracle-working icons, places to be sure to visit on the Holy Mountain, etc.
The first and third photos show the icon he is working on right now. He explained this is a new style that he had been experimenting with for 10 years, but it's only been in the last year that he feels he has enough of a handle on it to actually produce icons for the Church.
The second photo shows some icons that his students are preparing, and the bottom photo is taken from the top of the steps (the workshop is in the basement).
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