Pocket Size Retablo:  Approximately 3.5” x 1.75”  - Made by hand in the USA 

This collection represents blessings and protection with patronages and prayers to address most aspects of our daily lives. 

Inscription on back: (see pictures)

Angel Sophia    

"Sophia, Holy Wisdom, Bride of Light, from your fire my spark of soul is lit. Illuminate my mind. Mother of Mystery, open all knowledge I need. You bring light from the highest to the lowest and all the sleeping stir. The shadow remembers the sun that cast it, howsoever far, and through the window of my heart the starlight sees its star." © Gabrielle Herbertson

Description: Holy Wisdom, Knowledge.

Carry a pocket saint/angel:  Some people carry saint/angels because it is their patron saint, as a devotion or a reminder of devotion and prayer.  They are also carried as a sort of protection, that is, if the saint/angel is blessed. People carry pocket saint/angels with devotion, commitment, affection, and love. 

Display a retablo:   They are displayed in homes to honor the saint/angel or given as gifts of fortune and inspiration, retablos reflect a beloved historical tradition and cultural artistry.

History: The retablo, or ʻboard behind the altarʼ, 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. 

Artist: Lynn Garlick: Her original designs are hand-carved and painted with watercolor or occasionally oil on the traditionally used ponderosa pine planks. Then the high quality prints of the originals are decoupaged onto pine boards, in an old school technique used for the Italian altar screens of medieval Europe and are finished with polyurethane. These prints are produced with a deep appreciation of the santero and what has come before. 

Poet: Gabrielle Herbertson: She has composed 6 lovely and invocative prayers for the backs of the new angels. Gabrielle writes and sometimes teaches poetry, essays, and stories, using words as invitations to the things beyond words. She has been doing this for four decades.