By Glen Nelson

Imagine that you are an artist of distinction. Your works are so unique that a viewer seeing them immediately knows they are yours. You are the Fabergé of your field, and your work is featured often on the covers of magazines and heaped with accolades and awards. On national television it is called the best in the world. It sells for premium prices, and connoisseurs snap up your latest pieces to add to their collections. Your works pop up with regularity at Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and other auction houses that handle fine art and collectibles. Imagine all of that. Let it soak in for a moment: picture success at that level in the arts today. 

Is this hypothetical? No; I am describing the work and reputation of David Oscarson, among the most highly-regarded artisans in the world.

Image: Courtesy David Oscarson

Oscarson creates limited edition writing instruments. That is his artisanal niche. The earlier reference to Fabergé is intentional. The process of creating his enamel objects is so technical that workers in Oscarson’s shop apprentice for five years to do it. Essentially, an Oscarson pen is guilloché—finely-etched patterns in precious metals that are covered with a translucent glass enamel, fired at 1,000° Fahrenheit, and finished by hand painstakingly, layer upon layer. That would be difficult enough, but Oscarson creates narratives by designing pens around themes of famous figures, moments in history, or concepts such as car racing, art movements, and literature in highly complex and overlapping patterns. Some writing instruments are embellished with diamonds. A David Oscarson pen sells at retail from $4,000-$80,000.

This article is about something beyond the artistry, though. It is about art and religious identity.

Let’s say you are Oscarson and therefore that you are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as he is. From time to time, in your work, you have referenced your religious beliefs in the objects you make, but for the most part, obliquely. To use examples from Oscarson’s previous series: a harvest-themed pen was inspired by the carpets of the Nauvoo temple (CNBC called one of these “the best pen in the world”); a pen depicting images of sun and moon referenced exterior LDS temple decorations; another about the Tree of Life used multiple texts from diverse ancient cultures, including from the Book of Mormon, in its promotional materials. For the most part, however, belief and identity have remained in the background. Not repressed, certainly, but not necessarily highlighted in the object itself, either. 

Any opportunity to discuss an artist or artisan working at this level is a pleasure, but with Oscarson, something new and unusual is happening that should be of significance to scholars, other LDS artists, and their patrons. It is a case study that provides an opportunity to ask questions that LDS artists often face concerning the ways they engage with audiences regarding the aspects of their identity that include religious belief, the consequences of including content that connects to faith in their work, and the risks or rewards of drawing on their beliefs in their work. 

In Print

The cover story to the October 2022 issue of Pen World was written by Suzanne C. Lee. The bi-monthly magazine founded in 1987 describes itself as the premier publication for fine writing instruments and handwriting culture. Lee’s article is titled,  “Heavenly Realm.” The pens by Oscarson discussed in the article are from a newly-issued series, Deus Regit (God Rules). In the article, Lee describes what the symbols on the pen (God appearing through the clouds, for example) mean to Oscarson, who he is, and what he believes. It says, “…he is a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For Oscarson, the Deus Regit pen is a work of gratitude to God, a testimony to His mercy and goodness; God is ‘the light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God’ (D&C 88:6, 12-13).” (It is a bit surprising to see a citation from the Doctrine and Covenants in a publication like this.)

Next, Lee describes Oscarson’s belief in heaven, spirit prison, and the concept of resurrection. It quotes him, “This is my favorite part of the pen: when we lived in Heaven as spirit children of God, this plan was presented to us, and we chose to come to Earth, take our chances, and see if we can make it back. We come to Earth and we’re tested.” The article goes on to describe the three degrees of glory symbolized by the sun, moon, and stars, which appear on the pen’s barrel. (Remember, this is not the Ensign, this is an article is a magazine of collecting aficionados, presumably written by someone largely unfamiliar with the Church.) It continues with Oscarson’s genealogy—his ancestors were early members in Nauvoo–and it notes that one of these is Lydia Knight who followed Brigham Young to the Utah Valley saying, “Our place is with the Kingdom of God.” The title for the pen series is Deus Regit, which comes from Knight, “God rules.”

I find all of this very interesting. The author of the article moves beyond arm’s-length reporting. She internalizes the message and writes about its appropriateness, of light over darkness, “The excellence of the piece lies in its accessibility to all writers; its central metaphor is so fundamentally human that it can resonate with all.” In the article—and with the pen—Oscarson bears his testimony, “This is doctrinal. This is who I am. This is everything I hope to be. It says in Psalms ‘Do good and dwell forevermore.’ That’s my hope. With all the struggling and trying we do, this sums it up for me. That idea of the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other? I believe that’s very real, and we choose to listen to one or the other at different times in our lives.” 

Lee alludes to heartbreaks in life that Oscarson has experienced and how he has found his way with a spouse who shares his worldview. The article ends with this critical appraisal, “The magic of the new David Oscarson Deus Regit collection is that it was guided with genuine feeling and based in faith, but the writing instrument, itself, carries an image that resonates with everyone. Light versus darkness is a fundamental icon…Oscarson has created a fountain pen that is, at once, entirely personal and completely accessible for all, and it is truly beautiful.”

I want to be clear that it is not my view that every LDS artist should feel compelled to make work that can be viewed and discussed theologically, as Oscarson’s Deus Regit is. I simply find it fascinating and beautiful that the artist is putting himself out there, with an audience that I presume is not especially knowledgeable about the restored gospel, its history, nor its people. In a world today that is fixated on personal identity, he is saying who he is and what he believes. I don’t assume that many LDS people even know Oscarson’s name, which is a shame to be remedied; but it seems to me that he deserves to be a cherished addition to our canon. Who else is working at his level of artistry, enjoying such national recognition, and is placing LDS doctrinally-focused art into the broader discussion? 

Oscarson is turning doctrine into art, not because he was commissioned to paint a mural in a temple, illustrate an article in the Ensign, or to participate in an art exhibition where most of the audience will be LDS. Quite the contrary; he is inviting others to see and feel what he feels. He is making this work simply because he decided to make, precisely, the object that would mean the most to him, regardless of the audience’s background or its potential response. Oscarson acknowledges the risks of creating this work and putting it out into the world. The Pen World article notes this about the artist, “He explains that as he has gotten older, he worries less about how such a fountain pen might be perceived.” 

If you were an artist, and LDS, what would you make? In what ways would the things you care most about be discernible in your work? The Season is a project to document something quite simple, largely without agenda, merely this: What are artists who are LDS making? Deus Regit is what Oscarson is doing. And I applaud him for it.