You Are Not Dead, Yet 2.
John Parker Dilworth
For information about this book or to purchase prints or right to any artwork please contact me via post:
John Dilworth
Knotwork Industries, LLC
2847 Melanie Lane
Ogden UT, 84403
All artwork, copy and book design by John Parker Dilworth
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
ISBN: 9798305521245 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9798306926889 (paperback)
This work contains a combination of fictional narratives and references to real historical figures. Stories with a note (†) are based on or reference real individuals. While efforts have been made to accurately represent historical facts where real people are concerned, some artistic liberties may have been taken for narrative purposes.
The stories, art, and commentary about real persons are based on public domain information and historical records. This work is not intended to cause distress to any living relatives or associates of the real individuals mentioned. Any resemblance to other persons, living or dead, in the fictional stories is entirely coincidental.
“Life is for the living.
Death is for the dead.
Let life be like music.
And death a note unsaid.”
― Langston Hughes, The Collected Poems
Within these pages, each skull tells a story about mortality—some tales are tragic, others absurd, but all remind us of the strange ways our paths might end.
There are lessons to take to heart, but mostly I hope you smile at these skeletal portraits and their brief tales.
After all, you're not dead yet.
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Fr. Michael of Bergamo was a monk of the Capuchin order.
When the fraternity was ordered to moved to a new church the monks brought the bones of over 3000 friars to the new location.
Michael was asked to oversee the arrangement of the bones in a new crypt.
He arranged the bones artfully into chandeliers, arches, and many other intricate and artistic compositions.
When Michael died, his own bones became part of the decor on display for others to enjoy.
Fr. Michael of Bergamo is dead.
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Duane Jeffries worked for the US government helping rural communities build infrastructure and roads.
As a token of appreciation, a grateful community gifted him a sacred "war bonnet" full of eagle feathers earned through acts of bravery, kindness, and achievement.
Years later, Duane wore the bonnet to to a work sponsored costume party. A photo of him accepting the award for best costume was published in the local paper.
The gifted bonnet and the trophy for best costume were donated to a local museum when he passed away at the age of 87.
Duane is dead.
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Glen Jackson was a wealthy financial advisor in New York City, his days consumed by spreadsheets and client portfolios in a glass tower high above the streets.
He dreamed of the West with its wide open spaces, a ranch of his own where he could live simply under endless skies.
One summer, Glen traveled to a guest ranch to learn horseback riding, fence mending, and cattle herding. During this experience, he realized with certainty that he would never be a real cowboy.
Thirty-two years later, Glen died peacefully at that same guest ranch, having spent every remaining dollar he earned to become a permanent guest and live the life of a "part-time" cowboy.
Glen is dead.
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Henry James was a detective.
He imagined himself to be a real-life Sherlock Holmes, solving difficult crimes using his intelligence and wit.
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Rabbi Judah Loew lived in the beautiful city of Prague, Austria.
To protect the Jewish ghetto of the city, the rabbi created a humanoid figure of clay from the river and brought it to life with sacred words.
The people loved the golem, who guarded them and thwarted attacks on the community.
The golem's clay heart turned wild and he began to harm very people he was meant to save.
The Rabbi changed one letter in the word "Emet" (life) on Elias to "met" (death), turning him back to lifeless clay.
The golem is dead.
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Phillip Quinn was a collector of vintage clothing and furniture.
On one of his shopping expeditions, he came across a beautiful lava lamp. He took it home to his trailer only to find that the heating element did not work.
Determined to see his newly acquired lamp in action, he placed it on the stove in order to heat the liquid inside and initiate the flowing liquid that makes a lava lamp so desireable.
The stove caused the lamp to overheat and explode. A shard of glass from the explosion pierced his heart causing fatal injuries.
Phillip is dead.
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Phineas Gage was the foreman of a railway construction gang.
One day, an accidental explosion blew a 3 foot tamping iron through his head.
Phineas underwent a radical surgery and made a remarkable recovery.
After the incident, his personality had changed and he found fame exhibiting himself in freak shows, circuses and fairgrounds, living a new life of adventure and reckless indulgence.
Phineas is dead.
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Pope Stephen VI became pope of the Roman Empire in 896.
His ascendence to the papacy was controversial and he lacked support from those loyal to the previous dynasty.
To spite his enemies, Stephen VI ordered Pope Formosus's rotting corpse to be exhumed, dressed in papal vestments and put on trial.
As expected, Stephen VI found Formosus guilty of all accounts and had the corpse stripped of its vestments and thrown in the the Tiber river.
Stephen VI is dead.
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Robert Buccannan was a solider in the British army.
Robert wore a powdered wig, even during combat. A good wig was expensive, but wearing a wig helped distinguish a brit from the lower-class Americans.
While engaged in battle, Robert’s wig fell to the ground. Distraught at this loss, he returned to the battlefield and was struck by a lead ball as he reached to recover his periwig.
Robert is dead.
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Neils Christian Hansen was a sailor in the US navy.
After surviving many battle and combat, Neil and his shipmates were performing goodwill service to help allies rebuild after the war.
On a sightseeing tour Neils sought a souvenir from the battlefield and picked up an unexploded grenade from the debris.
The grenade exploded and killed him.
Neils is dead.
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Brett Falconstein loved to listen to music.
His happiest moments where those when he could sit alone with his headphones fully absorbed in the music around him.
He had a massive record collection and had invested in the highest quality audio equipment so that he could listen to his favorite artists in the highest and purest fidelity possible.
His favorite songs to listen to were slow tempo, melancholic songs with lonely, dark, and depressing lyrics.
Over the years he became more and more insulated and suffered from horrible depression. Instead of listening to music the latter years of his life, he would put on his headphones to block people, sitting in silence until he died.
Brett is dead.
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Clyde Harvey smoked a pack a day.
He loved the ritual—the warm smoke filling his lungs, watching gray ribbons curl toward the sky.
He knew cigarettes would kill him eventually. Every evening, he walked through the pine forest behind his house, thinking about quitting. Tomorrow, maybe. Next week for sure.
One twilight, a hiker asked for a light. Clyde obliged, as he always did. The hiker thanked him, and after walking away tossed the the still-burning cigarette into the dry underbrush.
The forest fire didn't reach Clyde's house but the smoke filled his lungs in his sleep.
Clyde is dead.
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Marsha Dalton studied and taught philosophy at a prestigious university.
Over many years she developed a philosophical framework with a foundational idea that free agency could not exist. She wrote several books on the topic, was a guest on prestigious radio programs and was generally praised for her ideas that challenged fundamental religious and societal norms.
Later in her life, she was diagnosed with a terminal illness and chose not to receive treatment, fearing that doing so might undermine her work and ideas about agency. She worried that peers and students might question that she did have the freedom to choose her path in life.
Marsha is dead.
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Père Armand David was a Jesuit missionary in China. On one of his encounters, he was giving a Panda skin and bones which he returned to Paris for study.
While known in China, no live panda had ever been seen in the west, and many became skeptical of the existence of pandas and some believed them to be mythical creatures.
Many decades later, in 1929 US president Teddy Roosevelt became the first westerner to shoot and kill a panda, ending the skepticism.
The panda is dead.
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Artist’s Notes
The origins of this project came during a family trip to Mexico. I was fascinated by relief carvings of skulls on Mayan ruins and how small variations in a repeated motif create interest and variety.
This series is most definitely inspired by Mexican art, especially that of José Guadalupe Posada, the famous printmaker known for his use of skulls in his political art and prints.
In October 2018, as a creative exercise, I began drawing a skull each day, making small changes and adding elements to personalize each drawing.
What started as simple outlines evolved into unique characters, each with its own story to tell. After completing nearly 100 drawings, I transformed select pieces into linocut prints.
This collection pairs these prints with short stories about death - some funny, some tragic, all reflecting on mortality through an artistic lens.
The stories are written using “kishotenketsu” storytelling structure, chosen for its simplicity and ability to present a thoughtful narrative and twist in each of these short stories.
I’m new to printmaking and my technique is imperfect. I’m sharing them in hopes that they might inspire others to create something better.