Carbondale promotes civic pride by displaying SIU mascot

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- We've seen fiberglass cows in Chicago, fake pigs in Peoria and renditions of corn cobs in Bloomington.

Now, this southern Illinois town said it will try to muster up some civic pride of its own by displaying renderings of Saluki dogs -- the Egyptian-bred mascot of Southern Illinois University -- courtesy of some canine-happy artists and a local taxidermist.

"It wasn't a copycat thing," said Nancy Stemper, who heads a community-arts group sponsoring the project. "It was a, 'We can do this, too' thing."

Boost arts centers

To boost the area's profile as an arts center, seven dogs are destined for local storefront windows. They include a mosaic King Mut, S'Linky -- with the novelty toy of the same name comprising its midsection -- and Fulleruki, whose horn-rimmed glasses and bow tie are meant to suggest SIU's most famous former professor, philosopher Buckminster Fuller.

SIU bought the statues from the arts group for between $3,500 and $4,000, and will permanently loan them to a civic booster club for display in the city's downtown, said Raymond Lenzi, associate chancellor of the school's Office of Economic Development.

The project's purpose is to point out to people not acquainted with far Southern Illinois the many artists' shops and galleries that dot the hilly landscape around Carbondale and neighboring Makanda, and perhaps draw some tourists, he said.

"This is a very artsy area," Lenzi said.

Hit with hunters

Luckily for the mascots, the place also is a hit with hunters.

Stemper's arts group managed to find coyote molds from a nearby taxidermist in the spring of 2001, when they first commissioned local artists to create 17 dogs.

The original idea was to auction off the mascots and split the proceeds between the arts group and the artists, she said.

But the auction, held in the days after Sept. 11, 2001, was less than a success. Only two of the dogs sold, another three were bought with the help of eBay, leaving 12 to find other homes.

Two of the dogs made fine gifts, Stemper said. Three more remain in the custody of her group, Carbondale Community Arts. The rest will stand and sit sentry at area businesses, reminding all who pass that Carbondale can do art, too.