St. Valentine - Patron of Lovers, Happy Marriages, Young People and Beekeepers.
Valentine was a priest who aided Christians who were being persecuted under the reign of Claudius II. Despite this, Valentine was performing marriages to Christian couples. Eventually he was caught and beaten and then jailed. Claudius, however, liked Valentine and spared his life until Valentine tried to convert Claudius to Christianity. After this, the ruler had him beheaded. The night before the execution it is said that Valentine wrote the jailer's daughter a note, which he ended by signing, "From your Valentine". He was beheaded on February 14, around 270 AD.
"O man of great heart and conviction, through your example, may we learn to love unconditionally and unselfishly. May we find great joy and be profoundly enriched by this union with our beloved."
About the Artist
Lynn Garlick started carving, painting, and producing her retablos in 1993. Her workshop is located in the high desert town of Taos, New Mexico, a landscape richly steeped in religious iconography and history. The retablo, or ʻboard behind the alterʼ, was originally created in New Mexico in the 1800ʼs in response to the lack of Bibles and Icons being sent from the church in Rome. The Santero (saint maker) painted retablos from pigment collected and ground from the local surroundings. The boards were hand hewed usually of ponderosa pine or tin. The practice has carried down through the generations and is still done this way today. Lynn paints her originals retablos on traditional pine boards carving and then paints them. To create her production work the images are mounted on baltic birch.
