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.
Sis & D’s Spoons
Sis & D’s Spoons
Brandon, MS
Wood
Spoons
Guild member since 2001
The artistry of Sis & D’s began as an accident with a broken store-bought wooden spoon and some ice cream. Doug Lamb took tools and wood to his workshop to create a functional spoon that would serve his needs. Friends and neighbors saw the spoon and soon the process had to be expanded to fit a growing demand. Doug found a partner in fellow artist Celeste Wild and the adventure started. Their spoons are made from the finest hardwood with each piece uniquely designed to show the beauty of the wood and the imagination and skill of the artists. Sis & D’s spoons can now be found in all 50 states and in at least 22 foreign countries.
Candace Spurzam
Candace Spurzam
Ridgeland, MS
Glass
Fused Glass
Guild member since 2011
Candace has been exploring color and art for a lifetime. She says, “It doesn’t feel like a ‘calling’ as much as it’s at the core for me. I minored in art in college, not finding the medium that captured me. I’ve trained in painting, pottery, sculpting, and welding. Welding came closest, until I took a course at the Craft Center from Jenny Thomas in fused glass. It’s a more unusual form of expression, but the biggest joy for me is the tactile piece. For me, the most successful pieces of art practically beg to be touched. They invite an authentic and personal interaction. As in writing my dissertation or ‘Occum’s Razor’ the simplest solution is the best. I gravitate towards clean, simple design. My design aesthetic mirrors how I prefer life- straight-forward and intellectually sound.”
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.
John Stenmark
John Stenmark
Madison, MS
Wood
Turning
Guild member since 2008
John likes the fact that the pieces of wood he works with continue to surprise him; one never turns out exactly the way he thinks it will, but they all add texture to his life. He has spent the last seven years concentrating on learning the skills required to practice his craft. He has learned to turn the usual forms and projects, and he has experimented with a variety of surface techniques, texturing, gilding, and patination, stone inlay, and carving. He expects to spend the next seven years stretching those skills and bringing even more innovative ideas to his works.
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.
Adrian Sturdivant
Adrian Sturdivant
Brandon, MS
Wood
Turned
Guild member since 1995
The majority of Adrian’s work is wooden bowls (open and closed faced with and without natural edge) and hollow form art. He also turns Christmas ornaments, wooden pens, and an occasional spinal. He derives satisfaction from sharing enthusiasm for wood with others, especially with beginning woodworkers. Adrian has served as chair of the Mississippi Woodworkers and to work with Magnolia Woodturners, Inc., and to serve two years on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Woodturners, Inc.
Roger Sturdivant
Roger Sturdivant
Florence, MS
Glass
Fused Glass
Guild member since 2014
For Roger Sturdivant, it wasn’t until on his travels around North America that he found his love for fused glass after seeing several pieces of it in shops in New England and Canada. In 2009, he purchased a small kiln to learn the trade, making mostly Christmas ornaments and other small items for gifts or to sell at local shows. Then in 2011, he purchased a much larger kiln to allow him to do larger pieces. While laborious to some, Roger says that to him creating fused glass is a labor of love, hand cutting each piece of glass and creating his own frit to create beautifully colorful and smooth functional and decorative pieces. Whether it’s through the process of pot melting, twisting, or slumping the glass, all of his pieces are bright, colorful, and functional, appealing to all age groups.
Cathy Talbot
Cathy Talbot
Tupelo, MS
Enamel
Jewelry
Guild member since 2011
Cathy Talbot is a life-long resident of Tupelo, MS. Always interested in the arts, and after raising only one son, time was found for not only enjoying the arts but creating art. Classes at the National Ornamental Metal Museum and Memphis College of Arts leads her to the ancient art of enameling, or the firing of glass to metal. After a day in the corporate world, the lights are on most every night in her backyard “Empty Nest Studio,” where unique jewelry and art objects are handcrafted out of copper, fine silver, and glass enamel. Depending on the desired effect, items are torch-fired or kiln-fired multiple times to achieve the high quality of glass fused onto metal.
Laura Tarbutton Beach House Studio
Laura Tarbutton Beach House Studio
The main focus of the Beach House Studio is metal, but not by any means the only emphasis. Laura began her journey in this art form with PMC Precious Metal Clay. Working in PMC since 2004, the medium yields itself easily to the incorporation of textures and shapes seen in the natural world, but she has found there is no limit in the medium of metal. In the work of the studio, she strives for an organic feel where textures abound and a love of nature shines through.
Textures are prominent in these pieces whether they are lampwork beads, PMC, pottery, enameled PMC and copper, or Mixed Media Jewelry. Interests are varied, and using simple items like lace, bark, netting, leaves, and crushed glass are all things that can inspire in an instant and forge a new project. PMC is only one of the many ways that she uses metal in these pieces. Sterling silver, fine silver, copper, other base metals, and enameled and flame painted copper are all used to create unique pieces of jewelry.
Laura’s studio setup has progressed along with her work. The Beach House Studio has always been a place of sharing and learning, a place to share techniques and ideas. After retiring in late 2022, her husband Ron began helping in the studio, cutting out copper shapes and working the clay studio. They work with chainmaille expert, Jackie Messer, to create pieces as well as Israeli artist Cecilia Cohen (now a Washington state resident) who creates unique lampwork beads. These collaborations have led to the creation of jewelry with lampwork beads incorporated into chainmaille necklaces, earrings and bracelets. Also, they produce enamels used with copper and Precious Metal Clay and etching or fusing metal with cold connections.
Laura’s work was included in the book The Glass Artist's Studio Handbook (Studio Handbook Series) by Cecilia Cohen.
Brandon, MS
Mixed Media
Guild member since 2011
Fellow since 2020
Laura Teague
Laura Teague
Laura is a metal jewelry artist, working primarily in sterling silver. Her work draws inspiration from ancient motifs and childhood memories. Designs are contemporary and dynamic.
Baton Rouge, LA
Metal
Guild member since 2005
Fellow since 2015
Jenny Thomas
Jenny Thomas
Chesterfield, VA
Glass
Fused
Guild member since 2007
Jenny’s process for fused glass is based on her foundation as a painter, usually beginning as a sketch. She then assembles the glass, with different colors and layers, by cutting each piece and assembling them to then place in the kiln. The basis of everything she creates is her belief in God as the ultimate Creator. In Genesis 1:26-27, God says [to Jesus and the Holy Spirit] “Let us create man in our image, in our likeness... So God created man in his own image.” When asked why this is important to her, Jenny responds, “In light of this being spoken on the sixth day of creation, we are all clearly made in the image of One who is quite creative. Our gifts and abilities differ, but each one of us brings glory to God when we shine in the ways He has equipped us.”
Mike Thompson
Mike Thompson
Raleigh, MS
Gourds
Gourds
Guild member since 2005
Mike and Michelle began growing gourds on their farm in 1996 and were fascinated by their sizes, shapes, and characteristics. Making useful and beautiful items from gourds has grown into a wonderful experience for them. They make intricate cuts with a mini jigsaw to produce baskets, open bowls, and bowls with close fitting lids. They use a wood burner and rotary tools to burn and engrave designs. Mike uses hand-held gouges for chip carving and relief carving. They use stains and dyes on the exterior to enhance the natural beauty of the gourd. The transformation from a plain ol’ dirty gourd to a beautifully handcrafted gourd is not an easy one, they say. Part of the transformation is a chore and part is fun, just like life.
Marilyn Tolley Rose Studio
Marilyn Tolley Rose Studio
Ridgeland, MS
Fiber
Quilts
Guild member since 2010