(Photo submitted) Chad Elliott, both a musician and an artist will display both of his skills at Shaky Tree Coffee during the Artisans Road Trip, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 4-5.

Iowa artist Chad Elliott will be featured as one of the 40 artists opening their studios, workspaces or galleries as part of the 2008 Artisans Road Trip. Elliott will be hosting his art and music at Shaky Tree Coffee in Spencer during the event from 9 a.m.-5 fp.m., Saturday, Oct. 4 and 12-5 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 5.

"It is my hope with this particular setting (A.R.T.) to create an atmosphere that takes the viewer into the imaginary world that both my songs and art come from," Elliott said.

Elliott, a painter and ceramicist, will not only be displaying his unique, whimsical works of art, but music as well. He will be performing original Americana folk music multiple times throughout both days of the event at Shaky Tree Coffee.

"My art has always been influenced by music, and my songwriting started with the notion that I could paint images with lyrics. I hope that with bringing them both into one environment, people can see and appreciate the connection between the two," Elliott said.

Elliott's paintings and ceramics reflect his earthy intonations and carry a feeling of finding place without placement and home where no house stands. He is a monument to the proverb, "All those who wander are not lost."

"There's quite a variety of themes in my show. As an artist, I've really tried to keep exploring mediums and themes. My traveling and 'wandering' have no doubt influenced my direction creatively. I used to be afraid that I would end up a 'Jack of all trades, master of none,' but now I see that my palette as an artist has only become richer because of the searching," Elliott said.

Area residents may recognize Elliott's work from his residency at Arts on Grand in Spencer and the ArtsLIVE People Project aerial art photo taken during the University of Okoboji Winter Games in January. Elliott has also created two murals on display permanently at Shaky Tree Coffee. One hangs outside on the West wall of the building and the other adorns the coffee bar inside the shop.

"Most of the paintings in the show were done at Shaky Tree or Arts on Grand. Without a traditional studio of my own, I had to improvise studio spaces and Shaky Tree ended up being a great place to create. I wrote many songs sitting on the back couches and I painted in the old freight elevator up by the coffee bar. Not many people have painting studios in an elevator while ordering an espresso," he said.

Musically, Elliott has won many awards including FolkAlley.com's Open Mic Finals with his song "Bluebird Creek." That win earned Elliott a spot on stage with Odetta, who is just one on a long list of prolific folk artists he has shared the stage with including Tom Paxton, Loudon Wainwright III, Eric Taylor, Buddy Mondlock, Dan Zanes, R.L. Burnside and Storyhill. Also, Elliott's song, "How's the Weather?" was chosen out of 300,000 folk songs as an award nominee for the Top 20 New Folk Songs on Just Plain Folks.

Elliott was recently recognized as a 2008 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Finalist. He was one of 32 finalists, chosen from 800 applicants, who competed during the 2008 Kerrville Folk Festival.

Above all the Iowa songwriter's music slips messages about life as he has experienced it through living with homeless, love, divorce, fatherhood and discovering inspiration in a modern world through strong lyrics and guitar.

* Artisans Road Trip is open to the public Saturday, Oct. 4 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 5 from 12-5 p.m. For more information about Chad Elliott, visit www.myspace.com/chadelliottfolkmusic. For more information about Artisans Road Trip, visit www.artisansroadtrip.com.