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.
Tom Hughes
Tom Hughes
Natchez, MS
Clay
Ceramics
Guild member since 1995
Since becoming a Christian in 1975, Tom has had a special interest in crosses. Tom moved to Natchez in 1980, and a few years later he began making crosses from the square nails that were used in building houses prior to the Civil War. These nail crosses are worn in many states and countries. Crosses have been provided for churches to use in their processionals and other similar usage. Tom also makes stoneware pottery. When he is firing or waiting on pots to dry, he makes crosses. As a mostly self-taught craftsman, Tom enjoys being a member because the Guild has not only provided an additional market for his work but has given him the opportunity to know really great people who have influenced him as a craftsman and as a person.
Jana John
Jana John
Louisville, KY
Clay
Ceramics
Guild member since 1995
A native of Oklahoma, Jana worked at newspapers in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi before moving to Louisville in 2000. In addition to being a member of the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi, she is a member of the Louisville Craftsmen’s Guild and a juried participant in the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program. She hand-builds pottery, both decorative and functional, using terracotta clay. Clay masks are her specialty. Her signature pieces have a cat motif. She makes cat-shaped masks, platters, bowls, spoon-rests, and pins. The cat's preoccupation comes from her love of cats. Other masks belong to the “My Women” series. They’re an exploration of the many paces and personalities of women.
David James Johnson
David James Johnson
Memphis, TN
Sculpture
Ceramics
Guild member since 2011
David creates sculptures, paintings, drawings, and music, but it is with pottery that his creativity really becomes mystical. He wants his work to appear as if it just arose from the depths of an ocean, fresh and vibrant, full of life. David keeps the George Ohr statement, “No two pieces alike,” with him as he tries to embrace the beauty of the individual piece. His credo is: “I am not a factory; I am a man.” He wants his truly unique pottery to be used and adored in the modern home.
Lynda Katz
Lynda Katz
Independence, LA
Clay
Ceramics
Guild member since 1985
Lynda works exclusively in porcelain, a high fire white vitreous clay body which requires great skill of the potter. In addition to her one-of-a-kind and commissioned pieces, her work included a line of functional pottery. She throws each piece individually by hand. Her work incorporates a broad range of influences from throughout the history of ceramics, especially the classic porcelains of the Chinese Song Dynasty. Each piece is designed and made with great care and is intended to be used as well as contemplated. Lynda has a M.A. Degree in ceramics, has held several teaching positions, and has been shown nationally in shops, galleries, and exhibitions. She has received numerous awards for her work.
Rose Ellen Lindsey
Rose Ellen Lindsey
Brandon, MS
Pottery: Ceramics
Guild member since 2008
Rose Ellen Lindsey is employed full time with a telecommunications company in Jackson, but gets to build her pottery in the evenings and on weekends. With her husband, Ken, she has established the N_KREBEL Pottery Studio in Brandon. Rose Ellen uses nature themes in much of her pottery- sycamore leaves, nuts, sweet gum balls, even small ‘critters.’ She won a Blue Ribbon at the Tallahatchie Riverfest organization for placement in the New Albany Museum. Rose Ellen doesn’t stick to one theme or type of design. “My inspirations seem to come from all my waking movements. Everyone and everything in life has the potential for my using it in my pottery.”
Linda J. Livaudais
Linda J. Livaudais
Rossville, GA
Polymer Clay
Jewelry
Guild member since 2011
Blanca Love
Blanca Love
Bay St. Louis, MS
Clay
Ceramics
Guild member since 2012
As a clay artist for over a decade, Blanca finds joy and freedom in working with clay. The possibilities are endless, from the colors to the structures. The amount of fine details that a piece can have only depends on the creator of the work. Every one of her pieces is created with love and as a tribute to nature’s diversity and beauty. Nature has always been her source for my best work. One of the reasons she enjoys working with clay is that clay and nature share so many qualities. Many of Blanca’s latest pieces are sculptural yet functional pieces influenced by growing up on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. Blanca also enjoys participating at festivals and events and connecting with art lovers.
Susan Rodrigue
Susan Rodrigue
Prairieville, LA
Clay
Functional Stoneware
Guild member since 2017
Susan creates pottery to add simple beauty to everyday function, adding joy to daily living using as many as sense as possible, especially visual and tactile. She hopes when you visit her booth at an art show, you also experience the smell and taste of fresh garlic and bread as she demonstrates use of garlic mincer plate. Her food-safe, functional stoneware pottery is oven, dishwasher, and microwave safe. Most pieces are wheel thrown then embellished with carving, distortion, or printing. Glazes are applied by dipping, painting, and trailing then fired in electric kilns.
Pia Stelma
Pia Stelma
Vicksburg, MS
Clay, Fiber
Flowers, Embroidery
Guild member since 2015
Pia, originally from Thailand, remembers seeing a lady selling clay flowers at a craft fair in the hospital where she worked. She was fascinated by the detail and the process, so upon moving to the United States, she began making her delicate blooms with clay imported from Thailand as she waited to receive the credentials necessary to work legally in the USA. Each petal and leaf of each flower are individually made and hand painted. The clay air dries, and because of special secret ingredients, the clay has elastic properties when it dries, giving you flowers that will last a long, long time.
Keith Stewart
Keith Stewart
Taylor, MS
Clay
Ceramics
Guild member since 2000
Keith has worked as a full time potter since 1991, and his family has been making pottery for four generations. He produces wheel-thrown stoneware pottery in a shed built by his father. While he uses some techniques common to the southern folk style of his family, he has incorporated the techniques used by contemporary studio potters, such as temperature control and kilns heated with electricity and natural gas. Keith has studied Oriental pottery and medieval European pottery. This led him to new forms, colors, and textures in his work.
Patricia Watkins
Patricia Watkins
Slidell, LA
Clay
Ceramics
Guild member since 1992
A fellow with the Guild, Patricia’s work consists primarily of wheel thrown pieces in hi-fired stoneware and porcelain. She produces Raku one of a kind decorative pieces using various firing methods. Her continued exploration of form has led her to focus on altered shapes, to compose vessels that are obviously thrown shapes, but are made asymmetrical with additions of slabs or coils in patterns that are unique to her work. As each shape emerges, it becomes a vehicle for the interplay of pattern, line, and color that she loves.
Warren Wells
Warren Wells
Madison, MS
Clay
Pottery
Guild member since 2008
Warren owns and operates a pottery studio in Raleigh and formerly owned and operated one in Arizona. He fires most of his pottery in a gas kiln, but also uses alternative methods such as raku firing and pit firing. To Warren, pottery is more than a means of earning a living, and he takes pride in his work, the quality of it, and the pleasure it brings to others. “When creating individual pieces of pottery, I keep in mind that my work will be enjoyed by families around the world, and will be passed down through generations.
Yerger Andre
Yerger Andre
Abbeville, MS
Clay
Ceramics
Guild member since 1997
While studying philosophy at the University of Mississippi, Yerger developed an interest in pottery which led him to a scholarship at prestigious Penland and apprenticeships with several master potters. He continued his exploration of pottery by working with a crafts cooperative in Papua, New Guinea, while serving with the U.S. Peace Corps. For his unique and beautiful pottery pieces, he formulates and mixes his own crystalline glazes, and all his food ware is microwave and dishwasher safe. Yerger has taught workshops throughout the South and at John C. Campbell Folk School.