Out of the ordinary: Elayne Goodman uses everyday objects to create sought-after contemporary folk art. (Culture Center).

Julia Roberts owns one. So does best-selling author Anne Rivers Siddons. Actor Nicolas Cage wanted one. What do these famous names have in common? They are all fans of the work of contemporary folk artist Elayne Goodman of Columbus.

Goodman has turned a passion for collecting odds and ends into a thriving and satisfying career. Her quirky and upbeat art is fashioned out of recycled materials and sold in galleries throughout the United States and France. Julia Roberts bought a Goodman globe from the Red Piano Too gallery in St. Helena Island, South Carolina. The piece is covered, top to bottom, with witty maxims about art like "The artist will allow his mother, wife, and children to starve so that he can produce art."

Although far from being a starving artist now, Goodman springs from humble beginnings. Growing up on a working farm in rural Mississippi, she learned to make do with what was available. "There was absolutely no money," Goodman says. "But my mother let us play with her sewing scraps, needle and thread, scissors, and razor blades, even when we were small. I sewed on an old treadle sewing machine from the time I was six, and the idea of using everything came out of that era of my life. They threw away nothing. All that did influence my art."

Goodman has always been interested in art, but it was not her first career choice. She was a surgical nurse until 1980, when she took a break and never returned. Instead, she enrolled at the Mississippi University for Women, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and graduating summa cum laude in 1989. But even her nursing skills affect her art. "Everything about surgical nursing is organization," she says. "And that's also true in the type of art I do. I have hundreds of plastic shoe boxes and they are labeled and somewhat in order and sorted. That enables me to work a little bit faster. The organization is basically how my work is done. I take this and this and this and put it together in some reasonable manner.

The Renaissance Gallery in Northport, Alabama, has carried Goodman's work since opening in 1994. Owners Kathy Groshong and Judy Buckley say they are delighted to include the Mississippian in their stable of 30 artists. "We have a lot of Elayne's loyal followers who visit us regularly to see her work," says Groshong. "People get a big kick out of it. We have several customers from Birmingham who come down at Christmas every year, and she is their favorite. They come as a group to see what she's doing."

Elvis is a recurring theme in Goodman's work. Her 9-inch wooden Elvis angels sport brightly painted jumpsuits, and her Elvis Christmas ornaments feature a photo of the King. "A lot of people identify me with the Elvis pieces," says Goodman. "All Elvis people are great fun, and I really do enjoy them. I've been to Graceland, and I like to hear him sing, but I'm really more interested in the phenomenon of Elvis because it is so astounding. I went to a conference on Elvis at Ole Miss once, and that was the most fun I've ever had in my life. There was a lady there from Japan who came every year to the Elvis conference one week and the Faulkner conference the next week. These fans go across the board."

Nicolas Cage spotted Goodman's "Altar to Elvis" in a New York City gallery and wanted it, the artist says. He was willing to pay the $15,000 price tag but balked at the $2,000 shipping fee. "If the gallery owner had called me, I would have driven to Nic's house and set it up for him," laughs Goodman. A photo of "Altar to Elvis" has appeared in Rolling Stone magazine.

Goodman has lived her entire life in Columbus, except for brief stints in Memphis and Atlanta. She is the fifth generation in her family to live on the farm that she and her husband Pete now share with their mixed-breed, 7-year-old dog, Butch. Roots run deep for this East Mississippi family. Both of the couple's sons live nearby on family property; Marty lives just down the road, and Brian and his wife, Janet, are close enough to allow Jacob, 4, to walk across the yard and visit his grandparents. Even Ginger, Jacob's dog, likes to play at the Goodmans', keeping company with Butch.

Goodman scours auctions, flea markets, and yard sales for her raw materials. She buys practically every button she finds, and friends and family also contribute items. "Once people discover I use this kind of thing, they give me the most amazing and wonderful stuff because they don't want to throw it away. I've been given absolutely fabulous things," she says. There have also been some unusual donations-like the very large, full-length artificial leg that one of her dealers gave her. Or the three sets of dentures a woman supplied. Goodman hasn't found a spot for the leg yet, but she used the teeth in some mounted fish. Sooner or later, everything finds its rightful place.

The contemporary folk artist's work has been included in the books The Button Lover's Book by Marilyn Green and Elvis Culture: Fans, Faith, and Image by Erika Doss. Her art can be found in public and private collections across the country.

Miah Michaelsen, former director of the Kentuck Association, a non-profit community art organization, knows Goodman's work well. "Her work is done with playfulness and with a wink," says Michaelsen. "She has a wicked sense of humor. You don't know what she's going to come up with next." When Michaelsen left Kentuck last year, Goodman created a special going-away present--a beaded, framed collage using a Kentuck Festival T-shirt as the centerpiece. "I couldn't have had anything that better captured the essence of the place," says Michaelsen.

Working alone all day can be isolating, so Goodman meets every Thursday with a group of 20 female artists in a rented storefront in Columbus. The women, who call their group Studio 206, offer each other support and generally just enjoy a fun day together. The camaraderie helps everyone stay motivated.

Goodman strives to make her art cheerful and optimistic. "There's enough of the other stuff," she says. "People tell me all the time, 'Every time I look at the piece I bought, it makes me feel good.' That's what I'm after."