World Class Carbondale (Artists Division)

Rory Jaros, the chairmaker, will be entering the Smithsonian Craft Show, a very prestigious event held in April in Washington, DC, and I'm helping him craft his application to post online through Juried Art Services, including photographs and descriptions of five (not so easy) pieces from his portfolio. I'm telling ya, Bloggy, Rory's work is world class (on display at the University Museum in October, and eventually at Hundley House, with other 'gifts to die for').

The Southern Illinois region not only has world-class craft-artists (like Rory, Roberta Elliot, and Karen Fiorino, who have web sites), but also world-class guitarists who deserve a world-wide audience. And artists are not the only exemplars of greatness in our community. Don't forget the few, the proud, the tenured, who excel in their own disciplines at SIU (the people Chancellor Wendler wants to pay top dollar to get and keep them here). And even more individuals and establishments in "Greater Carbondale" are world-class. The medium doesn't matter. You can be an academic chairperson, or a chair person on E. Jackson St..

I met another first-rate artist, Inga Silver last week at Art Lovers' Trading Company to view her portfolio and discuss the cover art for the Guitars Between the Rivers compact disk. Inga learned her craft under the legendary John Yak, at the STC Graphics Program back in the day. (I'll spare you the yack-yack about John's draconian (yakonian?) instructional method, but his program turned out the best-trained graphic artists in the biz. Yak deserves more of a web presence than a California graphics company with his name, so this parenthetical may have to do.) Anyway, Inga's "four fruit chair seats" are currently on view (and for sale) at Harbaughs.

Art Lovers Trading Company, Carbondale's newest art gallery has only been open a few weeks in the Newell Building (formerly Bening Square), but they promise to be "unique," so we'll see. The owner, Sue Mills, plans to host "First Friday" type events beginning Oct. 1. (Murphysboro used to do that, maybe they still do -- have art shows and coffee house entertainment on the first Friday of every month.) Maybe Longbranch will join the fun, or the new coffee house two doors down from Longbranch.

And speaking of world class, this Friday and Saturday night jazz pianist Mel Goot and Rita Warford (above) will be performing at Newell House Coffee Cafe, and the toe-tapping cajun stylings of Chicken Foot Gumbo can be heard at Mungo Jerry's in Murphysboro on Friday.