When Jessie and Little Owen Stucker passed him by Orville Qualls was out in the yard playing in the snow like a kid. Little Owen reminded himself to call Bobby Willis as soon as he got home, but otherwise they thought nothing of it. It was Orville's way. A little touched they said but forgivable as he was old and had never been known to harm a soul and half the population of West Sisters, Indiana had work by his hand on their walls or if they felt themselves of a more sophisticated nature, packed away in a basement, garage or attic—or maybe offered up as gift to one of the local collectors of Orville Qualls of which there were more than you might imagine, especially since that article in the Indianapolis Star calling him a genuine folk artist and a primitive genius on the order of Grandma Moses and Elias Hicks.
'Ezekiel Rising' is the portrait of an artist whose spiritual practice is not only his creativity, but also the sacrifice of giving his work away. This tale uniquely pairs a requiem for a beloved animal and a sharp satire of the art world. As the character Orville Qualls weathers winter, loss, and lazy consumption by arts audiences, the reader warms to him and the astonishing beauty he creates from pain. Author Jacob Russell is not only a writer, but an artist as well. CLICK HERE TO READ 'EZEKIEL RISING'.