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Ecclesiastical Art, Christian Art, Christian Iconography
and Symbolism:
St. Patrick
From the June 2003 Issue 14
“...and now I am telling you. You may want to tell others.”
Church of St. Patrick of Cedar Creek
19921 Nightingale St. N.W.
Oak Grove, MN 55011-9243
Phone (763) 753-2011
The sculpture of St. Patrick is Completed. The
Artist visits our parish this spring with the new statue of our
patron, St. Patrick.The sculpture was delivered to the church, on
Easter weekend when it was dedicated and blessed.
During his lifetime, St. Patrick took some unusual
turns to bring him to his ministry in God’s work. It took
some similarly unusual turns to bring his likeness to its new home
in Oak Grove. Father Michael had once purchased a small figurine
of the famous saint on a trip to Ireland. When the new worship space
was completed and plans were being made to commission a statue of
St. Patrick, he offered it as an inspiration for the piece.
That’s when Colorado artist Tim Hinz was
brought into the project.Tim Hinz’s work had been discovered
locally from an issue of Architectural Digest. A full-time Chris-tian
artist and part-time professor of sculpture at Red Rocks Community
College in Lakewood, Colorado, Mr. Hinz has fulfilled over 350 commissioned
works for different churches across the United States.
In May, Mr. Hinz was able to visit the parish to
see his workin place and meet the parishioners of the Church of
St. Patrick. “It was a real blessing from God to receive this
job. I had never advertised and yet someone in Minnesota had seen
my work,” said Mr. Hinz, “Now we have made some wonderful
friends in the process.”
During the yearlong project,
Mr. Hinz discovered that St. Patrick is a real role model for us
all. “Like Joseph, he was taken away, but was saved by the
word of God. He read the Bible and fulfilled God’s word,”
he said. The statue is made of basswood which is a linden-type wood
often used by sculptors. The original block is made by laminating
some thirty pieces of wood together a process that improves the
integrity of the statue as opposed to using a single solid block
that may eventually crack.
Early on, mechanized tools are used to shape the
wood, but the final phase is completed by hand. The artist describes
the likeness of St. Patrick as being “folksy” and somewhat
impressionistic. “It shows his strength and earthy qualities,”
said Mr. Hinz. “It reflects the real history of St. Patrick.
And no snakes and shamrocks!” he adds, referring to the famous,
but somewhat misunderstood legends surrounding the saint.
If you would like to learn more about the Hinz
Fine Art Studio, you can visit his individual web site at www.hinzfineart.com
While you’re online, you may also want to learn more about
St. Patrick. One particularly good source for information can be
found at www.sacredfire.net/celtchrist.html
PATRICK LIFE-SIZED SCULPTURE
CHURCH OF ST. PATRICK OAK GROVE, MN.
Put commentary and History of St. Patrick Texts
here
MAILING ADDRESS:
Tim Hinz
C/O Hinz Fine Art Studio
8966 2100 Rd.
Austin, CO 81410
970-835-3014
Lyn's cell 303-596-8012
Tim's cell 303-596-8017
All images are copyrighted and are solely and wholly owned
by Tim Hinz ©Copyright 2004 Hinz Fine Art Studio
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