Ed Stilley Exhibit of instruments and process.

Ed Stilley's guitars are on display at the Old Statehouse Museum in Little Rock through March as described in this article in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Along with his guitars, his workbench is set up onsite with some of the tools and bending jigs he used to make his outlandish guitars.

His guitars are noted for their weight, their inventiveness and the challenge they are to play. The strings are often too high off the neck to form a reasonable chord, and the frets are so irregularly placed that each instrument is unique in sound and appearance. On the other hand, they are an excellent example of creative spirit. Human beings may be driven to create, even if untrained, poorly equipped, and without the necessary materials.

I am lucky in comparison. I have a shop full of tools, beautiful hardwoods, and experience in the making of useful things. The photos shown here are of some of Ed's guitars set up during a concert in Ed's honor by Still on the Hill.

Today in the woodshop, I'll be assembling and finishing the trestle base and preparing for classes to resume at the Clear Spring School.

Make, fix, create, and increase the likelihood that others learn likewise.