Bless Her Heart

The art to be found in Mississippi is well worth writing…or texting…home about. 

Mississippi Mud is quite famous.

People even used Mississippi Mud brownies and Mississippi Mud cakes, for example.

Artists around the world, obviously including Mississippi, enjoy using the clay found in the Mississippi Delta to make a range of pottery items – running the gamut from fine art to elevated everyday home goods. 

So let’s take a look at Mississippi pottery, before moving on to more delicious topics – such as Mississippi Mud pie.

Let’s dig deeper into the Mississippi mud… 

Over Yonder

Merigold:  McCarty’s Pottery

• Founded: 1954 
• Designs: dinnerware, platters, casserole dishes and planters 
• Signature Colors: nutmeg brown, cobalt blue, jade 
• Trademark: a wavy black line…claimed to be the Awards: Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters (1996). Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts (2012).  Inducted into the Smithsonian Institution Archives of American Gardens Hall of Fame (2012) and Ole Miss Alumni Hall of Fame (October 2015). Permanent exhibit at Mississippi Museum of Art (June 2018). 
• Showings: America House in New York, Birmingham Art Gallery, Brooks Memorial Art Gallery (Memphis), Denver Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts in Houston 
• State or Ole Miss: Ole Miss…(yes, this does actually still matter to some of us) 
• Website: mccartyspottery.com 

Mound Bayou: Peter’s Pottery 

• Founded: 1998 
• Designs: eye-catching, functional items…including bowls, candlesticks, tableware, lamps, detailed sculptural pieces 
• Signature Colors: Dogwood Brown, Dirty Jade, Bayou Blue, Cotton White 
• State or Ole Miss: (?!) 
• Website: peterspottery.art 

Down Yonder 

Hattiesburg: Vixon Sullivan 

• Founder: Vixon Sullivan, a ceramicist and artist from Hattiesburg, Mississippi 
• Collection: a line of southern-inspired pieces including the Magnolia, his signature piece…(how appropriate, right(?!)) 
• Trademark: positive messages attached to each piece 
• State or Ole Miss: neither…University of Southern Mississippi 
• Website: vixonsullivan.com 

Ocean Springs: Shearwater Pottery 

• Founded: 1928 
• Founder: Peter Anderson  
• Products: high-grade hard fired earthenware intended for functional as well as decorative use – including art pottery, decorative tiles, figurines and utilitarian ware 
• Availability: Shearwater Pottery Showroom is the only retail outlet for Shearwater pottery 
• Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: destroyed or severely damaged 17 of 19 buildings on the Shearwater property – including the Shearwater Pottery showroom and Annex, the main workshop, glaze room and kiln houses 
• Website: Shearwater Pottery Home 

Home

Etta: Etta B. 

• Founders: husband and wife team, Daryl and Brent DeShea Weathers 
• Offers: whimsical designs like football, sunflowers and pumpkins for fall 
• Signature Colors: Matcha Leaf, Hydrangea and Magnolia 
• Website: ettabpottery.com

Jackson: Wolfe Birds

• Founded: 1946
• Known for: small, unique slip-cast figurines – such as birds, cats, fish, lambs, rams – that are cast in molds originally designed by Elizabeth (Bebe) Wolfe
• Trademark: charming rounded bird figurines such as the one above
• Known for: small, unique slip-cast figurines – birds, nativity figures, fish, sheep, cats, rams, and lambs – case in molds originally designed by Elizabeth (Bebe) Wolfe 
• Trademark: charming, rounded bird figurines 
• Website: Home | wolfebirds.com

Oxford: Satterfield’s Pottery

• Founder: Michael Satterfield, ceramic artist and instructor for the Oxford School District 
• Products: functional items like dinnerware, mugs, olive oil and vinegar cruets…cups that feature animals and religious imagery  
• Signature Colors: rich reds, cobalt blues and other unexpectedly brilliant hues. 
• State or Ole Miss: M.F.A. from Ole Miss…B.F.A. in sculpture with a minor in photography from Delta State University 
• Website: satterfieldpottery.com