About the Wide-Eyed Angels and and the
Artist Who Creates Them

The ceramic angel plaques that appear in our "Pick-Me-Up" gift baskets are the designs of a Catholic Monk, Father Maur van Doorslaer, O.S.B., who is an accomplished European artist.

He studied Mexican folk art and was inspired to create a new art form that he calls his "cookies", because of their simplicity of form and child-like attitude and because they reminded him of the Saint Nicholas cookies given to children in his native country.

The hallmark of his designs are the large, wide open eyes of his saints, madonnas and angels, expressing wide-eyed wonder at the beauty of God, His creations, our world and its beauty, seen simply, as through the eyes of a child. His artwork is not only simple, it is also joyful, humorous and kind. It touches people where they "are", not where they "should be".

For these reasons, we are very happy to include them in our "Pick-Me-Up" gift baskets that we hope will bring a smile and a sense of well-being to all who receive them.