James Harold Jennings
(1931–1999)

James Harold Jennings was born on April 20, 1931 in Pinnacle, North Carolina where his family owned a tobacco farm. He attended school though the fifth grade and worked at the family farm, later taking a job as a projectionist at the King Drive in, owned by his stepfather. When his nerves "went bust" in 1968 he stayed at home on the farm to care for his mother until she died in 1974.

After her death, Jennings chose to live without electricity, running water or a telephone in order to create artwork which filled his yard. He carved each whirligig, windmill, sign and wood figure with a simple knife, assembling and printing them with house paint. He liked creating animals and birds, but some o...