Don’t Be Koi (2026)

Screen Print on
Fully-Functional
Fender Stratocaster Guitar
12 3/4” x 38 3/4” x 3 3/4”
(Including Tremolo)
$1,950

When designing Don’t Be Koi, I wanted to create something to inspire the groove, whatever that may be. I wanted something that could hang in a jazz or blues band or shred country and rock. I wanted to make something that flowed like a river, but kicked like a mule. More than anything, I wanted to create something that could inspire something unapologetic. Something that says…

Say what you need to say! Don’t Be “Koi!”

The piece features koi fish swimming above a rocky pond bed, normally regarded as a peaceful sight. However, peacefulness was not the final goal. Like music, it needed tension. The fish became punchy halftone graphics and the wood grain of the guitar was allowed to show behind the rocky background, creating a tension of textures, but maintaining the flow of the instrument’s shape. Also, a case of serendipity, the wood grain in the headstock mirrors the concentric ripples on the surface of a pond.

This piece is also born to be played. As a musical instrument, this guitar is a Fender Stratocaster with an American-made double-bound alder body and MIM roasted maple neck with pau ferro fretboard and locking tuners. It also features a shielded cavity with all-Fender components and Custom Shop ‘69 pickups.

Final intonation and setup done by Lanham Music of St. Joseph, MO.