Clyde Jones Folk Artist

Tell Us About Chatham County’s Clyde Jones

More than anything, Bynum folk art legend Clyde Jones likes to make children smile. For decades, he had an unconventional way of going about it – by revving up his chainsaw. It worked. And kids weren’t the only ones smiling.

Clyde started with log remnants or an old stump.  With a few swipes of his saw, some hammer and nails, and perhaps a coat or two of paint, a “critter” was born. Plastic flowers, tennis balls, artificial grapes, and bottle caps became eyes. A pair of panty hose or a clip-on braid became a tail. Some got saddles or a string of lights. The lucky ones got a frosting of glitter.

Clyde started creating these fanciful dogs, horses, giraffes, elephants, anteaters, ardvarks, and other beings in 1982. His yard in the former mill town of Bynum was full of them. And the world took notice.

Clyde’s creatures have been on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, and as far away as Africa and the Great Wall of China. He made a star appearance in New York City and has been featured in several documentaries. He also created large, textured folk-art paintings.

But they aren’t for sale. Never have been. “You can’t buy one, but I like it when people come and take a look,” Clyde said. In fact, when famed Russian ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov arrived in a limousine in 1991, Clyde politely refused to sell him one. 

Instead, Clyde generously donated his critters to schools and to local nonprofits. And he gave them to folks he took a liking to, which includes most of his old Bynum neighbors, owners and servers at area restaurants, his dentist, and the Pittsboro Town Hall.

Betty Wilson, a former guidance counselor at North Chatham Elementary, recalls when Clyde visited the school. He constructed a critter for the playground and then helped each child hammer a nail into its back.  All had a hand in its creation, and Clyde figured the nails would keep them from climbing on it. When it was finished, he gathered the kids around and shared this wisdom:

“Always remember: Deep down, each of you has something you can do to make other people happy. I want you kids to look inside and find what that is and go out and do it.”

Want to know more and see more about Clyde Jones? Read on . . .

Best Place to Celebrate Kids’ Creativity with Clyde:  ClydeFEST

Every spring for more than 20 years now, the Chatham Arts Council honors Clyde with an annual full-day, smile-packed folks art event for children called ClydeFEST. Kids play original Clyde-themed games, make their own art, eat food, and enjoy live entertainment, too. At Critterville, kids get to paint and glitter their own Clyde Critter cut-out to take home.  Wanna know when the next ClydeFEST is happening? You can find out here!

10 Things You Might Not Know About Clyde

1. He was born in Chatham County on April Fool’s Day, most likely in 1938 (he isn’t sure). His parents were William and Hedi Jones, and he was the eldest of three boys.
2. He attended school in Pittsboro up to grade nine.
3. He has made a living cutting lumber, clearing brush, mowing lawns, training dogs, doing carpentry projects, and working at the local polyester mill.
4. He lost his left middle finger while working as a wood cutter in the late 1970’s.
5. In 1979, a large log crushed his leg, and his doctor told him he might never walk properly again. It took him three years to recover. During that time, his urge to create art was percolating.
6. His first chainsaw critter was a pig, created on March 23, 1982.
7. His chainsaw of choice is a mid-size Stihl called a Farm Boss.
8. He began making paintings in 1987 at the age of 49 – 11 years older than Grandma Moses who started at age 38. He didn’t begin signing them until 10 years later.
9. He began adding glitter to his critters and paintings in 1992 because he liked the way the reflected light made them sparkle.
10. He didn’t drive when he lived in Bynum, except for his riding lawn mower. Instead, neighbors and friends would pick him up and take him where he needed to go. A neighbor once said that if she awakened to the sound of his mower outside her bedroom window, she knew it was an invitation to head into town for breakfast.

Best Place to View Clyde’s Critters: Bynum, NC

There was a time that when you got to town, you’d know when you were at Clyde’s house. His was the one that was painted with whimsical animals and had a herd of critters in the yard. Now that Clyde’s age has required that he take up residence in a different spot, community members and dear friends of Clyde, including Stephan Meyers, have created a Clyde gallery in his past home. And though Clyde is further down the road these days, Bynum is still like a drive-through folk art gallery, and Clyde’s critters can be spotted in many a yard. During the holidays many are strung with lights. Look for the houses near the intersection of Bynum Church Road and Thompson Recreation Road, and please be respectful of residents.

Best Place to View Clyde’s Paintings: Captain John’s Dockside Restaurant

When Clyde stopped in to Captain John’s Dockside for a take-out order more than 30 years ago, he and the new owner John became fast friends. The two met up in “Critterville,” and Clyde invited John to pick out a painting. “Something with a fish, please,” said John. The restaurant now has the largest collection of Clyde paintings in one place, many of them custom made. While he doesn’t make it every week anymore, Clyde still feels happy and at home over a meal at Captain John’s.

Best Place to Get the Big Picture: Downtown Pittsboro’s Clyde Jones Mural

Downtown Pittsboro just got a Clyde Jones refresh. A crew of Clyde’s local fans led the way, supported by the Town of Pittsboro, the Chatham Arts Council, and Sherwin Williams, in refurbishing an original Clyde mural from decades past. Chatham residents Tami Schwerin and Lyle Estill first asked Clyde to paint a mural on their building back in 1996, and Lyle recounts the history in this essay. Almost thirty years later, muralist Thomas Begley has brought it back to life, and now the largest existing example of Clyde’s community based art is again vibrant and full of energy.

Links

• Documentary Preview by Khang Mai
• Short Documentary
• Documentary by James Cox
• 2008 ClydeFEST Documentary
• A short book by Richard Semelka:  Clyde Jones: Penguins, Giraffes, and Other Critters, His Joyous Vision 

Adapted from an original 2015 article by Bett Wilson Foley.