A
few of the works of Philip Churchill, Knapper, Artist!
December 22, 2006
I promised you a little biographical information on Philip
Churchill and he was glad to provide it.
Philip is young among the top knap artists, he is 43 years
old.
He became interested in working stone through his preparedness
studies. He has always been an iconoclast who preferred
to do things himself, and thus has taught himself many of
the survival skills that will be crucial in our not distant,
uncertain future. He was shown once how to make and arrowhead
by Myron Nix, in Quartzsite, then he sat down and broke
a lot of good rock into chips, flakes and dust. He began
that self learning process in 1995. By 1998 he was creating
points through percussion and pressure flaking.
He created his first Danish knife in 1999, a type 5. He
know creates almost exclusively type 3 and 4, the most difficult.
In the United States there are perhaps 10 people who can
create a Danish knife from stone, as they present unique
challenges as you increase their length. Lithic Casting
labs has some excellent background information on Danish
Daggers Type 4. If
you wish to learn more, click here.
Today
there are only 15 to 100 people in the world that can create
a Danish Neolithic Dagger. At the high skill end of Type
3 and 4, there are many many fewer. Philip Churchill's art
is the rock of the earth, and as he answer to the the question
of why rock, instead of a different artistic medium, Philip
replied that he wanted to create art that could last a million
years. When we study ancient man, what do we find that remains.
Stone tools. In 10,000 years, someone may be minutely examining
a Mayan King staff head, or a Clovis point, or a Danish
Dagger and wonder who ground a very tiny P.C. 2003 into
the glass. Stone lasts, it's beauty is forever.
Note:
Philip Churchill engraves his PC and the date on all his
work that might be mistaken for an ancient find. He can
exactly produce any point with appropriate materials for
the region your are interested in, and ALL will be minutely
engraved to avoid confusion upon resale. You too can own
the beauty of enduring art. Email
Phil Churchill today and have a piece created specifically
for you!.
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Obsidian, jade, agate, flint. Mayan faces, and Mayan staff
heads. A Clovis point that I had commissioned that would
have been found in Arizona, made from material that would
have been found here (obsidian), just one of the many different
Clovis styles. All of these are for sale, and will be offered
here and Ebay in the next few weeks. Every one of these
is unique, everyone a synthesis of the rock in his hand,
the shape in his mind and the coordination of every strike.
You don't have to wait for me, you can commission your own
work by simply emailing
Phil Churchill with your request. He is part of the
Sonoran desert, carries no phone and is living the life
that I think waits for all of us in the near future. He
is bringing beauty to that future.
If you have collected arrow heads when a child, or broken
rocks together and wondered how Indians and primitive people
made tools you can begin to understand the growing art of
the best knappers in the world. Each piece you see in the
picture below - this is just a beginning, but I wanted you
to learn a little about Philip. Why? Because outside of
middel America there is a pool of talent, skill, heart and
desire that are important to your future, to mine. These
primitive skills are all about preparation for taking back
the industry of life from the machine we live inside of.
But the beautiful part of humans is that despite their omnivorus
nature, they have this other part, this sweet and beautiful
part that reaches to do more with skill and technique than
is called for by a tool, a knife, a scraper. IT is that
beautiful part of all of us that keeps going and paints
our hand on the wall of a cave, puts heart into paintings
that when you stand in front of them, strike you like a
club with the emotion that somehow the artist has conveyed
onto paint and canvas.
So today, slowly, I will begin in my small way, because
I do not possess these skills but stand in awe of them,
to present you with what happens when flint knapping goes
elsewhere, into art, reaching back in history, or into the
emotions.
You might recognize many of the pieces below, but as you
study them, remember, they were made just as you tried to
do many years ago, by simply striking a rock with a tool
and flaking off pieces, then pressing hard to break flakes
off. I'm sorry, just look and behold impossibly beautiful
and intricate works of one of the world's best knappers,
and, I am proud to say, my friend, Phil Churchill.
Below
is one other scan and a picture. The picture did NOT
capture the beauty of the Danish Dagger and I hope to
get a better scan of it and many other of Phil's beautiful
creations.
 |
Left, Anhks are shown with
a quarter to give you a sense of size. The Danish
dagger above is 15" long. I will get a better
picture of it and have more information on the
history of Stone Danish daggers for you in the
near future. |
Below, these are some of Philip
Churchill's production during 2005. They are owned and
housed in a private collection in Arizona for most of
the year! While these are not available, Mr. Churchill
can make an eccentric, goddess, point or reproduction
of actual points at your request!
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