Clyde Jones fashions low-squatting wooden critters with a chainsaw and adorns them with found objects and coats of paint unlike any animal coat you’ve ever seen. The critters have found their way to just about every front yard in their native Bynum, and have roamed to stranger turf: Crooks Corner in Chapel Hill, the N.C. Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and one reportedly sits atop the Great Wall in China. A true outsider artist, Clyde doesn’t sell his works, and some of his biggest fans are of the 12 and under set. This weekend, he will be given the first ever “Chatham County Cultural Treasure” award at the second annual ClydeFest. Folk artists from the Southeast will display works at the 100-acre farm, and musical acts include jazz, pop, gospel, blues and bluegrass. The man of the hour will be on hand to help children create their own works of art, which is one of Clyde’s favorite pastimes besides sitting on the front porch of Bynum General Store. Bring your own lawnchair. Saturday, June 21, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Chatham County Arts Council farm on Highway 64 W between Pittsboro and Siler City. 542-0394, www.chathamarts.org. $7, $5 for Chatham Arts members, free for children 12 and under.
