God's Silk Fabric
42" x 32"
Charcoal drawing and engraving inks on board

If God is weaving a silk fabric for you And you are not patient and you touch it with your hand, It turns into bark cloth.

The Akan used to cover themselves with bark cloth (kyekyen) by beating the bark of the bark cloth tree. (Antiaris africana) into cloth. It had a dull light brown colour, not as shiny and colorful as silk kente cloth. The Akan regarded the silk as a superior fabric to the kyekyen, hence the admonition that if God is preparing something special for you, you should not, out of patience, interfere or interrupt God's plan. Patience yields enormous rewards.

From Hearing and Keeping, Akan Proverbs, Vol 2. Kofi Asare Opoku