Member Directory
Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi Members
Search our Member Directory by name or medium (Metal, Ceramics, Glass, Mixed Media, Wood, Fiber). Or, scroll down the page to browse our Members.
About Us
We are makers on a mission to preserve and promote, educate and encourage, the highest standard of excellence in regional crafts.
The work of our Members reflects a high degree of competence, professional standards, and artistry in their medium and category. Eligibility is determined by a jury review process which takes place twice each year.
Arceneaux Cabinet Makers
Covington, LA
Wood / Furniture
Guild member since 2004
Greg’s furniture can be seen in the prestigious Cabildo Museum in New Orleans, in many plantations and in the offices and lobbies of Louisiana State University. He has been featured on the front cover of “Woodshop News,” in “Better Homes and Gardens Wood Magazine,” HGTV’s “Modern Masters,” the “Fine Woodworking” magazine, and the “Stepping Out” series of PBS, WYES, New Orleans. He has achieved many awards and for 23 years has served as donor and auctioneer of New Orleans’ Traditional Jazz Show.
Phillip Brown
I am a native of Shreveport, Louisiana and currently reside in Brandon, Mississippi. I grew up in central California and have lived in Mississippi for over 30 years. In 2018 I retired from over 40 years in aviation maintenance and aviation maintenance management.
Growing up I loved discovering the mechanics of how things worked and making things from wood, but I never dreamed I would be considered an artist. I have not had any formal art training, I am self-taught; my formal training as a certified airframe and powerplant aircraft mechanic taught me the importance of attention to detail and the use of various hand and power tools.
When my father passed away in 2008, I inherited one of his lathes and thus began my passion for woodturning. I started by turning wooden pens, an interest sparked by the gift of a beautiful wooden pen from my mother-in-law years before. From turning pens, I moved to turning bowls, vases, and platters. Recently I have been focusing on embellishing my work with various textures, color, and carvings.
In 2014 I joined the American Association of Woodturners and the Magnolia Woodturners, both have had a major impact on my growth as a woodturner and artist. In 2021 I was awarded a Mississippi Arts Commission Folk Arts Fellowship in Woodturning grant and in August 2023 I was juried into the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi. I have been an assistant instructor for two bowl turning classes and a power carving class at John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC.
Brandon, MS
Wood
Guild member since 2023
Stephen Bullock
Stephen Bullock
Brandon, MS
Wood / Furniture
Guild member since 2013
Raised in Jackson, Stephen has no formal art education other than public high school art classes. Drawing on his love for the outdoors, gardening, and wildlife, he tries to incorporate them into his pieces as much as possible. It’s no surprise that often one can find images of birds or trees in his marvelous wood carvings. All of his pieces are made from stained cedar, which allows him to control the different colors using various stains. This particular wood also makes his pieces ideal for covered patio settings and interior design. When asked why he likes to work with wood, his response was, “It’s different, and it stands out. The grain of each piece is unique, and it’s actually more of a work of art than I do with the wood.”
Todd Carr
Todd began at an early age, watching his grandfather work with wood. During a visit to the Biltmore Museum as a child, he was fascinated with the craftsmanship of the woodwork. He is drawn to natural colors, textures, and grain patterns of wood. Each piece tells a unique story as it is shaped, turned, or formed into a beautiful work of art. Todd prefers to work with wood from trees that have been blown over in storms or to be removed for safety reasons. He takes the wood from the end of its life to a new life bringing joy to those who appreciate God’s beauty.
Decatur, MS
Wood
Guild member since 2008
Fellow since 2018
Fletcher and Carol Cox
Fletcher and Carol Cox
Tougaloo, MS
Wood / Furniture
Guild member since 1974
A founding member of the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi, Fletcher is the recipient of many awards, including the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. He designed and built the desk in the lobby of the Craft Center. His woodworking creations can be found in homes, churches, offices, and museums throughout the country. Fletcher loves to work with local wood. At present, he is working with several pieces of red oak which came from author Eudora Welty’s front yard. He was given the wood by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and when he is done, the proceeds will help fund the Eudora Welty Foundation.
Kira Cummings
Kira Cummings is a multi-medium artist adept in an array of disciplines; painting, pyrography, photography, videography, graphic design, and animation. A Fine Art graduate of Jackson State University with a Minor in Graphic Design, Cummings holds a membership in the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi and Louisiana Craft Guild for pyrography. Cummings is the Creative Director for The Works where she creates video and animation for musicians, interview programs, and corporate promotions as well as producing live events. Cummings is also an affiliate for Walnut Hollow.
Jackson, MS
Wood
Guild member since 2016
Joe (Atley) Davis
Joe (Atley) Davis
Madison, MS
Wood / Kitchen Utensils
Guild member since 2017
After retiring from the corporate world, Joe Davis began woodworking as a hobby in 2010. He learned the craft through classes, the internet, and a lot of trial and error. Davis works with exotic woods from around the world to create a variety of pieces including cutting boards, charcuterie boards, and knife handles. He sells his work in various outlets throughout the state.
David Dill
David loved building and creating from a young age, from legos to spending time in his grandfather’s woodshop. This evolved as he got older, helping his parents work on various DIY projects around the house. He went on to study Architecture in college, but leaned towards the design build aspect. David says his grandfather had an extensive Fine Woodworking Magazine collection and he began reading those as well to gain more knowledge in building furniture. In 2011, David began a design build firm, d+p Design Build, LLC, with a friend. He likes to blend modern with organic aesthetics, with each piece challenging himself to be a better crafts person.
“I approach making furniture for people the same way an architect designs a building. Most projects start with a need, i.e. a table or chair. I then sketch the idea and make a 3D computer drawing. If it is something that I have not done before, I will make a prototype. Once the client and I are happy with the design, I then make the real thing always allowing for tweaks to happen until it is completed. My inspiration comes from exploring contrasts and how they interact. I love how different materials can coexist with each other; how two different woods look together. Or using the organic live edge of a slab of wood with the straight lines of modern furniture.” - David
Special Honors:
Made in Mississippi Podcast - S4E9 - November 2018
Studio Jackson: Creative Culture in the Mississippi Capital' - November 4th, 2014
Madison MS
Wood
Guild member since 2023
Robert Faulkner
Robert Faulkner
Aberdeen, MS
Wood / Furniture and Rings
Guild member since 2008
Rob has been a professional and dedicated craftsman in wood for over 30 years. He believes in simplicity in design and in construction, in using simple lines, and in using traditional proportions which builders have used for centuries to create structures of endearing style. Rob adapts designs from pictures or photographs of a piece that he finds visually appealing. “I often see a particular leg shape, a curve to an edge, or some other shape that I will try to incorporate into a design.” Even though he has worked with some very expensive, exotic species of wood, such as the Purple Heart, he always returns to woods that are native to Mississippi, those that he sees daily as he walks through the country. He especially likes to make pieces using wood taken from family property, knowing that it will passed down through future generations.
Dr. Ed Ford
Ed Ford teaches art at William Carey University and has been an artist all his life. He received his bachelor’s degree in art in 1984, his masters in art history in 1988, and his doctorate in art history in 2002. In addition to his academic career, he has thirty years of experience as a commercial artist. He specializes in illustration, graphic design, and animation, which he currently teaches along with art history. Lately he has added wood carving and pyrography to his skill set. His ventures with pyrography began in 2015 with his discovery that wood burners can have heat control. This allows him to draw with a wide range of tones, so wood burnings could be like drawings in pencil or charcoal. He found that the medium could express in ways different from any other he had used. He also feels that, compared to other materials, there appears to be something more profound and timeless about an image burned into wood.
Madison, MS
Wood
Guild member since 2015
Angela Foster
Angela Foster
Angela Foster is a Pyrography artist. The works created are either plain hand burned creations or created incorporating epoxy and other natural elements. Angela is also a long time member of the Ms Painters Society and the International Association of Astronomical Artists. Astrophotography of the night sky in MS is also a passion when not creating her wood burned art.
Her award winning creations have won many awards and can be found in homes across the country and abroad.
Pyro-Techniques Design LLC
Tupelo, MS
Wood
Guild Member since 2020
R. P. Funderburk
R. P. Funderburk
Olive Branch, MS
Wood / Birdhouses
Guild member since 2007
R.P.’s background as a carpenter enables him to use the tricks of the trade to ensure each of his birdhouses is well built to last for years. He uses old wood from buildings that have been razed, with new pieces of hickory, walnut, persimmon, cedar, and cherry from a local sawmill. He collects interesting twigs, mosses, and vines and saves pieces of barbed wire, wasps’ nests, pieces of old roofing tin, and antique square nails he finds while doing repair work. He adds the moss and twigs to make the houses more attractive to birds. Each birdhouse is made for specific species of bird which is native to Mississippi. To do this, he researches styles of birdhouses, then he puts them out in his yard and let the birds show him which model they prefer.
Aaron Griggs
Aaron Griggs
Houlka, MS
Wood
Baskets
Guild member since 2011
Making the first trip to Montana View, Arkansas in September 2010 with his wife Patsy, Aaron met a person by the name of Leon Jennings. Leon was about 90 years old at that time. He found him on the "Off The Beaten Path" tour of craftsmen and artisans. Aaron became interested at that time in White Oak Basket Making because Leon made baskets in the traditional way. Aaron makes his baskets in the traditional way. He selects the right tree, then spits it with wedges and a froe, shaves it down to billets with a draw-knife, then splits it down the grain in weavers, ribs, and handles depending on the type and size of basket to be woven. There are many basket weavers but only a handful of true traditional White Oak Basket Makers in the state of Mississippi and he is proud to be one of them.
Greg Harkins
Greg Harkins
Canton, MS
Wood
Chairs
Guild member since 1979
Greg is world renown for his craft. His creations are in more than 20 countries and in the homes of famous people such as former presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Jimmy Carter; Paul Harvey, Bob Hope, George Burns, Pope John Paul II, John Glenn, and many others. His "Plantation Rocker" was presented to all the Southern governors at their conference in 1990. Greg is preserving a virtually dead craft by hand turning parts and using techniques to make extremely durable and fine quality chairs. Each piece is dated and hand signed by Greg and guaranteed for life. Greg hand picks each tree for chair parts. Each chair takes approximately 25 hours to make. His work has been featured in more than 25 magazine articles and four TV documentaries.
Brian Hill
Brian’s woodturning roots go back to his upbringing in rural Hinds County Mississippi. Growing up, everything that was needed was built. Brian’s first experience with the wood lathe was with his uncle. One of his fondest memories was making a wooden goblet from a piece of pine and working on the lathe. Understanding the importance of mentors and teachers, Brian joined the local wood turning club, Magnolia Woodturners. This decision has proved to be instrumental in his growth as an artist. Brian’s woodturning style leans towards rustic functional pieces.
Brandon MS
Wood
Member since 2023