Woman at the Well - Icon residency 2025
An opportunity to visit this prayer-provoking icon during its residency in one of the chapels at the Sheldon Retreat 11th - 30th September 2025
It depicts the story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan Woman at the Well (John 4:1–42).
Icons have been used for centuries to offer a way of engaging with a bible story through prayer, stillness and contemplation.
This icon was created for the Retreat Association by Iconographer John Coleman, also known as Ikonjohn, who has produced icons for over 200 churches, cathedrals and abbeys worldwide. It was hallowed at The Retreat Association Conference in 2018 and tours retreat centres, churches and cathedrals across the UK.
The icon will be in residence at Sheldon from 11th to 30th September in one of our chapels.
You are welcome to visit between 2 – 4pm any day 15th – 19th and 22nd – 26th September. Please call at reception on arrival. Other times may be arranged by appointment. Other areas of Sheldon may be open depending on guests in residence - please check on the day.
At the end of the residency, on Wednesday 1st October, Alison MacTier from the Retreat Association will be leading a Quiet Day based on the Icon.
John Coleman, Ikonjohn 1939–2021
John first started icon painting when he was a guest at Hilfield Friary in Dorset. He learnt all the traditional methods of iconography such as using ground minerals and gold leaf. John described how prayer is central to the process of creating an icon and he often worked in church or cathedral settings.