Nativity Gentle Animals of the Stable Figurines

Gentle Animals of the Stable is the newest sculpture in the Christmas Story Collection. The donkey and two sheep are elegant animals who communicate gentleness in the turn of their heads and position of their bodies. The quality of expression is uniquely Willow Tree, and adds richness and surround to the quiet tenderness portrayed in this composition.

"I wanted these animals to have a calming, yet very stoic, elegant presence - by their gestures, their stance, the turn of their heads. I experimented with color and texture to give them a softness. I was interested in transforming a hard surface by carving and carving into it until it looked wooly or furry, or in the case of the donkey, had the clothlike surface of a blanket." - Susan Lordi