Finished on the Cross-Quarter Day between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, a day marked by the ancient Celts with the festival Imbolc, which was considered the beginning of spring and was a celebration of the goddess Brigid.
Sold in February 2015 to a private collector in Kansas:
This piece was a commissioned trade with Hank Will, who is the Editor-in-Chief of Mother Earth News, and a craftsman of beautiful handmade knives. I asked him a while back if he’d make me a mushroom-hunting knife and he produced the amazing looking knife at left. The handle includes brass, denim, locust burl, bison leather, and pear wood, and the brush is horsehair.
For payment, he requested a painting instead of money, so I made him the piece above. Hank runs a small farm in rural Osage County, Kansas, and I tried to capture the essence of his farmstead by using colors that I’ve seen in rural Kansas. Considering that Hank’s knives are beautiful works of art that are meant to be used, I thought it was appropriate to paint him one of my “utilitarian medium” pieces where I use acrylic latex house paint instead of artist-quality paints. Like Hank, I believe it’s possible to make beautiful art from materials primarily designed to be functional.
If you want to shrink something,
you must first allow it to expand.
If you want to get rid of something,
you must first allow it to flourish.
If you want to take something,
you must first allow it to be given.
This is called the subtle perception
of the way things are.
– Tao Te Ching, 36 (Mitchell, 1988)
On display in our home:
UPDATE (June 2020): This piece is now for sale. Beautify your home or office with an affordable piece of original art. $400
On display in our home:
Sixth in a series of works titled “Six Bardos,” inspired by the transitional stages in life, death, and rebirth outlined in Tibetan Buddhism.
SOLD in November 2014 to a private collector for their home:
Fifth in a series of works titled “Six Bardos,” inspired by the transitional stages in life, death, and rebirth outlined in Tibetan Buddhism.
Fourth in a series of works titled “Six Bardos,” inspired by the transitional stages in life, death, and rebirth outlined in Tibetan Buddhism.
Third in a series of works titled “Six Bardos,” inspired by the transitional stages in life, death, and rebirth outlined in Tibetan Buddhism.
On display in our home:
Second in a series of works titled “Six Bardos,” inspired by the transitional stages in life, death, and rebirth outlined in Tibetan Buddhism.
Christian Williams 