Friends help make another dream come true for Charlotte artist on the autism spectrum

Eight years ago, some of Jacky Claiborne’s friends made one of his dreams come true.

They rented the Double Door Inn and enabled Claiborne and his once-imaginary band, The Falling Pebbles, to perform before a packed house. This month, those old friends, plus some new ones, will again give Claiborne center stage.

This time, it’s his visual art getting the spotlight.

The 59-year-old Charlotte native and West Charlotte High graduate is on the autism spectrum. He uses art to tell the story of his life. He also writes stories to accompany and amplify his drawings.

Until now, his Facebook page has been the primary way that Claiborne, whose father Jack is a former Charlotte Observer editorial page associate editor, has been able to share his art.

“Shaddered: The Art & Music of Jacky Claiborne” opens July 23 at Nine Eighteen Nine Gallery at VAPA Visual and Performing Arts Center in uptown. The show will be in the gallery for about a week then move to another spot within VAPA for a month.

“I use my art to show how the real world could be better,” Claiborne said. “Like a lot of people on the autism spectrum, I live in a dream world to some degree. But I don’t run away from the real world. I take reality and build on it.”

In Claiborne’s dream world, ‘60s rock reigns. Pizza Huts, which Claiborne has reimagined as a chain of red-roofed eateries called Roggie’s Pizza, still look like they did in the 1970s. And his “angels” swoop in whenever he’s overworked, angry or frustrated.

Those angels are frequently depicted in human form in his drawings.

“My angels are inspired by the TV series, ‘Touched By An Angel,’ which I used to watch with my mom,” Claiborne said. “I dreamed that Mama Cass (of The Mamas and The Papas) came back and is one of the angels.”

A long time coming

Local artist Laurie Smithwick was instrumental in getting Claiborne a solo show.

She and her cousin, Raleigh artist Adam Cohen — another Charlotte native and classmate of Claiborne’s from Piedmont Middle School — had been discussing the possibility since before COVID hit.

Smithwick sees something special in Claiborne’s art.

“Jacky thinks of something that’s happened in his life, and he sits down and draws it,” Smithwick said. “It’s the essence of the type of art that’s referred to as ‘outsider art’ — the kind of art done by people without an arts education.”

Outsider artists “use art as a way to express themselves,” Smithwick said. “(Jacky) puts in so much detail. And because of the long stories he writes with each one, it’s almost like getting to watch a movie.”

A language all his own

Claiborne works the same way each time he sits down to create. He starts with a pencil sketch.

He goes over the lines with a pen before getting out colored markers to fill in the space. And he doesn’t usually do it all in one sitting. “It calms me down, in a way,” he said.

Carrboro musician John Elderkin, a West Charlotte friend and classmate of Claiborne’s and occasional member of The Falling Pebbles, curated Claiborne’s show with Cohen.

“Some of Jacky’s art looks like it just popped out of his brain,” Elderkin said. “But he has notebooks and notebooks of sketches and studies. He puts a lot of thought into each drawing.”

Claiborne has a language all his own, too. He calls it “the lingo,” and he introduces it to everyone he meets.

A conversation with Claiborne always begins the same way. He asks if you’re “shaddered.” (Translation: Are you in a good mood?) Your response: “Shadoobie.” (If the lingo is reminiscent of “Shattered” by The Rolling Stones, you’re onto something.)

“Jacky’s lingo is how he creates a safe space,” Elderkin said. “I think his art comes from the same place. His art says: This is where I’m coming from. In that way, he’s like any artist, except he comes from a less varnished place than most, a more vulnerable place.”

Pizza Hut and angels

Like many on the autism spectrum, Claiborne has deep knowledge of a few subjects that fascinate him. The interstate system. Soccer. The Titanic — both the disaster and the movie.

Christine, the menacing car from the Stephen King novel by the same name. And, his angels. All feature prominently in his art.

Claiborne often depicts himself, with glasses and a mustache, in his art.

A high school friend of Claiborne’s, Chuck Crews of Chapel Hill, even had a guitar made out of a mate’s chair bottom for Claiborne. He’ll play it when his band, The Falling Pebbles — a play on The Rolling Stones — perform at his art show opening.

The right spot

The VAPA Center is a collective of art organizations providing affordable work and office spaces for local artists and arts organizations.

Nine Eighteen Nine owner Joanne Rogers and artist Chalice Bartsch of Unorthodox Studios came up with the idea of hosting pop-up shows in the middle of Rogers’ space in the main level of VAPA, Smithwick said.

Smithwick said Rogers sees Claiborne’s show as a great fit for her space. “We want people to come in and sort of enter Jacky’s world,” Smithwick said.

Who’s the audience for this show? “Anybody who’s interested in art, specifically outsider art would be interested,” Smithwick said. “Anybody who has a loved one on the spectrum is going to be interested, and anybody who likes being able to get inside somebody else’s skin will enjoy it.”

“Looking at Jacky’s work shows you what happens if you don’t censor yourself,” Smithwick said. “His work shows what happens if you don’t let that grown-up editor take up residence on your shoulder.”

Want to go?

What: “Shaddered: The Art & Music of Jacky Claiborne”

When: The show starts July 23. Jacky Claiborne’s band will play his original songs starting at 3:30 p.m. that day.

Where: Nine Eighteen Nine Studio Gallery at VAPA Center, 700 N. Tryon St., Charlotte. The show will be in the gallery for about a week then move to another spot within VAPA for a month

Editor’s note: Page Leggett went to high school with Jacky Claiborne

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This story was originally published July 13, 2022 at 6:00 AM.