True Faith, True Light

The Devotional Art of Ed Stilley
Kelly Mulhollan
Photographs by Kirk Lanier
Introduction by Robert Cochran

In 1979 Ed Stilley was an Ozark farmer living an austere life when he received a message from God telling him to make musical instruments and give them to children. Over the next twenty-five years, Stilley created more than 200 guitars, fiddles, and dulcimers, starting with simple hand tools and no experience or training in building instruments. Each piece bears the words, “True faith, true light, have faith in God.” True Faith, True Light: The Devotional Art of Ed Stilley documents Stilley’s life and work.