{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"House of Folk Art","title":"Episode 66 | Mike Smith Met S.L. Jones: Rare Video, Carvings & Stories","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/6e2aa2de\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2843,"description":"Matt sits down with collector Mike Smith for a closer look at the work of S.L. Jones, using several carved heads and drawings from Matt’s collection alongside Mike’s firsthand memories of visiting Jones at his home in West Virginia.\nMike met S.L. Jones late in his career and was able to spend time with him, photograph him, and document some of those visits on video. Matt and Mike compare early and late carvings, look at the similarities between Jones’ carved faces and drawings, break down the unusual stamped signatures found on some of his heads, and talk about the life-sized figures and carved bluegrass bands he made earlier in his career.\nAlong the way, Mike talks about what it was like traveling around the Southeast in the 1990s to meet folk artists while they were still working. He explains why visiting artists in person added another layer to collecting their work and shares what he remembers from making the trip to see S.L. Jones.\nThe episode ends with something Mike has held onto for decades: video from one of his visits with S.L. Jones. In the footage, Jones talks about carving as a child, drawing in school, retiring from the railroad, and eventually getting into carving in a much bigger way.\nChapters\n00:00 | Mike Smith Met S.L. Jones\n01:26 | S.L. Jones Carved Heads and Signatures\n02:50 | Life-Size Carvings, the Band and His Drawings\n07:56 | The Problem with Collecting Folk Art\n12:37 | Stories from Visiting Folk Artists in the 1990s\n20:45 | Photographing Folk Artists\n25:25 | Mike’s Visits with S.L. Jones\n27:51 | S.L. Jones in Books and Old Photographs\n29:47 | Collecting S.L. Jones\n33:30 | How Many S.L. Jones Heads Are Out There?\n35:01 | Mike’s 1990s Video of S.L. Jones\n39:41 | S.L. Jones Crucifixes and Later Work\n42:10 | The Carved Band and Comparing His Faces\n44:15 | Why S.L. Jones Heads Are Hard to Find\n45:19 | House of Folk Art Keeps Going\nMike Smith is still active in the folk art world as a collector and dealer through Mike’s at Home Gallery. Follow...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/V9-9EJUZ9R45flfIBnsuQ4AwapFGe_rYKiVr1IMQwbU/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzUxNTk0LzE3MTE3/Mzc2MTktYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}