In the Company of Saints, Inc.
Handmade St. Kevin Plaque: Patron of Birds & Bird-Lovers
Regular price
$49.95
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I carved the original in clay and cast the statues by hand in our workshop in Covington, Louisiana. Statues come boxed and come with a history card. The card states the following:
Following his ordination, Kevin (498-618: yes, 120 years) lived for seven years as a hermit, meditating and eating only the herbs and other plants that came to hand. Word of his holiness spread, and he was forced to establish a community for monks at Glendalough, a beautiful valley near Dublin. For the rest of his life, he lived intermittently in the community and as a hermit. Stories of Kevin’s rapport with animals are numerous. The best-known one is that as Kevin was praying one Lent with his arms outstretched, black birds began making nests in his hands. Kevin, at one with the birds, cupped his hands around the nests and held his position until the chicks were strong enough to fly. Another story tells of hunters chasing a boar into Kevin’s valley, where he was praying in the open, birds perched on his shoulders and head. The pursuing hounds, seeing Kevin, stopped and lay on their stomachs, as if praying with the saint. The hunters, dumbfounded, stopped their pursuit and went off, leaving the boar in safety with the saint. This image of Kevin and his birds was carved by Hank Schlau and cast by him. It was handpainted by Karen Schlau.
Dimensions: 8 inches (diameter) x .75 inches thick
Following his ordination, Kevin (498-618: yes, 120 years) lived for seven years as a hermit, meditating and eating only the herbs and other plants that came to hand. Word of his holiness spread, and he was forced to establish a community for monks at Glendalough, a beautiful valley near Dublin. For the rest of his life, he lived intermittently in the community and as a hermit. Stories of Kevin’s rapport with animals are numerous. The best-known one is that as Kevin was praying one Lent with his arms outstretched, black birds began making nests in his hands. Kevin, at one with the birds, cupped his hands around the nests and held his position until the chicks were strong enough to fly. Another story tells of hunters chasing a boar into Kevin’s valley, where he was praying in the open, birds perched on his shoulders and head. The pursuing hounds, seeing Kevin, stopped and lay on their stomachs, as if praying with the saint. The hunters, dumbfounded, stopped their pursuit and went off, leaving the boar in safety with the saint. This image of Kevin and his birds was carved by Hank Schlau and cast by him. It was handpainted by Karen Schlau.
Dimensions: 8 inches (diameter) x .75 inches thick
