Saint Kateri Tekawitha is the Patron Saint of Environment and Ecology. She was born in New York, daughter to a Mohawk chief and an Algonquin mother, in 1656. When she was four, smallpox took her parents and brother and left her with pox marks and bad eyesight. She was adopted by two aunts and an uncle who was chief of the Turtle Clan. She was baptized by the age of 20; after which she was persecuted by her clan and village. She moved to a Native American Christian community in Quebec, Canada. There she led a life of prayer while caring for the sick and the elderly. She took vows of chastity in 1679. She died a year later. It is said that upon her death the pox marks cleared from her face.
Lynn Garlick Retablos grew organically over a period of 20 years. To create these heart-felt paintings of saints, angels and blessings, Lynn has brought to the folk art of Retablo making, all the skills and passions that she has learned through a lifetime of drawing, woodworking and painting. She is a long time resident of Taos, New Mexico. Moved by the sacred art of the retablo paintings and the santeros (saint makers) who made them, she started creating them herself. Lynn handcarves and paints her original designs on the traditionally used ponderosa pine planks. Then she decoupages high quality prints of her originals onto pine boards, in an old school technique used for the Italian altar screens of medieval Europe.
Speaking of her work, Lynn says, "The diverse cultures and the landscape of this part of the country deeply and yet unintentionally influenced me both artistically and spiritually. I am nourished by Northern New Mexico's rugged wildness and rawness. The profound devotion found in the different traditions and faiths here are unusual and inspiring. My original Retablos are painted on board with watercolor. I produce these prints with a deep appreciation of the santero and what has come before".
Includes a statement about the saint on the reverse side. Most are available as either an ornament or a wall hanging. The Ornaments are hand printed on a masonite board with a thread for easy hanging.
The Retablos range in size from 9" to 13" inches tall and are 5 1/2" wide by 3/4" thick. Ornaments range in size from 4" to 6" tall by 2 1/2" to 3" wide by 1/8" thick.
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