This article was first published in the magazine Fifteen501:
It’s not every day the most famous ballet dancer in the world pulls up in his limo in front of your house to chat and look around, but that’s exactly what happened when Mikail Baryshnikov drove into the tiny town of Bynum to check out the artistic creations of folk artist Clyde Jones.It’s not unusual for people to drive up for a view of the “Critters” that inhabit the Jones estate, but it is unusual for one so well known to arrive, and it was probably more unusual when the driver of Barishnikov’s limo asked Jones about his famous passenger: “Do you know how famous that man is?” to which Jones replied, “Well if he’s heard of me, and I’ve never heard of him, I must be more famous than him.”
What is there to see at Bynum’s most noted residence? “Critters,” as Jones calls his wooden sculptures. Sometimes there are staggering amounts of Critters in his yard, numbering in the hundreds. And just as staggering is the assortment of animal shapes: giraffes, pigs, horses, cats, dogs, birds, mice and some animal shapes perhaps best left interpreted by the maker himself. Jones creates his Critters using a chain saw and tools assembled with various joiners and adorned with whatever items that seem to fit that can be obtained, such as tennis balls for eyes on pig Critters, leather saddles on horse Critters, hard hats on the construction worker Critters and occasionally festive holiday lights on the horns of deer Critters.Sitting on the porch of his house, where Jones “holds office” when he’s not creating, you can read a Critter visitor book signed by people from practically every country on earth: Norway, Australia, Germany, Russia, Africa, Canada and entries from every American state. Jones proudly observes, “I’ve got art in every state in the country and pretty much every country in the world.” People really do drive hundreds of miles to see Jones’ Critters. One entry in his visitor book states, “I drove over five hundred miles to see your critters. Clyde, you are a treasure".
According to Jones, the current visitor book is just one of several. “I have a book like this over 20 pounds heavy at my brother’s.” Also, on the front porch you’ll find thousands of photographs of visitors to the Jones estate, all stapled or thumbtacked to the outside wall. A first visit to Critter Crossing generally results in stunned gasps and loud exclamations by even the most reserved individual. Such reactions are easy to understand. It’s impossible not to be impressed, amazed, stunned and flabbergasted when you encounter a house with an exterior painted with various animals, symbols an totems, and surrounded by a pasture inhabited with hundreds of brightly covered wooden animals. You do get a hint of what is to come as you drive into Bynum, a tiny village just off U.S. 15/501 a few miles north of Pittsboro. You’ll see the first evidence that something unusual is afoot when you spy the occasional Critter in the yard of one residence, then another. You’ll pass more houses with more Critters in more yards until you arrive at the home of Clyde’s Critters, where you are greeted by 10-foot tall sculptures on the curb with a tiny planked sidewalk and a sign overhead announcing to you and the world that you have officially entered “Critter Crossing.” It all started with a walk through the woods. “I was walking in the woods and I started seeing animals in the trees in nature,” he said. Jones’ art surely makes one think of nature with the fusion of wood and animals there to be seen by all. He tells me he got to the ninth grade, is from Pittsboro and landed in Bynum when his parents moved there. “I just started putting things together a little at a time,and eventually I had all of this” he said, pointing at his open expansive open air gallery. “Then people started noticing.”
That’s somewhat of an understatement, considering Jones’ worldwide fame—a fact that is even more unusual considering that he does not sell his work. An occasional child who wanders up sometime gets a free Critter, and he also donates some of them to the occasional local auction. But as a rule, Critters can’t be had for money. “I don’t do my art for money, I do it for myself,” he said. Not selling his art hasn't put a damper in Jones’ art adventures. “I've been all over the country doing my art,” he said. For a man who doesn't drive, Jones gets around. There seems to be no limit of interest in Jones’ work. During the interview for this story, a woman with two children arrived to implore Clyde to accompany he rand her family to a festival at the North Carolina Coast, and an elementary teacher arrived with his own children in tow to arrange a tour of the Critter Crossing for his entire class. “I’ve got so much on me I can’t handle it,” Jones explained to the woman imploring him to attend the coastal event. He also tells the teacher: “Come on around, but I may not be here … but you can go around the yard all you want.”
Jones lives a sort of art fantasy life and is often sponsored by arts organizations and flown to various parts of the country to produce his Critter art. Not having a car, a computer or modern amenities doesn’t matter to him. The Critter Creator of Bynum lives a sort of rock star art life. Tour buses and tourists, and even long distance bicyclists, make sure Jones’ house is a destination stop. While his fame is worldwide in the art world, a few locals still say “Clyde who?” when his name comes up. This is a loss for those who don’t know about the Bynum Critter Crossing. Unlike most artists, Jones is highly accessible, and when at home, he is generous with his time—and generous with his art when the mood strikes him. If you’re lucky enough and young enough, you may just end up with a Jones Critter masterpiece yourself when you stumble upon Critter Crossing.