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.
Thomas Root
Thomas Root
Madison, MS
Wood
Mixed Media
Guild member since 2008
As a self-retired CEO of two companies, Tom found himself with time on his hands. He started making trivets out of wine corks for neighbors and friends as a method of filling some of that time. Soon his creations were so much in demand that he branched out to making lamps, wine bottles, fish, flowers, and butterflies out of wine corks. Tom cuts the corks in half to provide a flat surface and hot glues them to 1⁄4 or 1⁄2 inch laminated boards. When the design is finished, a frame is custom cut to match the board. Each piece of art comes ready to hang with hook, brackets, and wall spacers made from a bed of hot glue sprinkled with cork dust.
Martha Scarborough
Martha Scarborough
Brandon, MS
Metal
Jewelry
Guild member since 2009
Martha like ancient methods of jewelry making. Chainmail, once used to make armor, combined with other methods of jewelry making, creates exquisite and highly original designs. Martha finds it soothing to link together rings and watch a pattern unfold. It is fascinating that a ring can be put together in many different ways to create a variety of shapes. Where others see decorative ironwork, sewer grates, and scroll work, Martha sees patterns to create jewelry.
Alvin Schilling
Alvin Schilling
Purvis, MS
Wood
Bowls
Guild member since 1996
Alvin began woodworking in his father’s shop as a child, making birdhouses, lamps, tables, etc. In 1992, he began turning bowls and in 1995, attended the John Campbell School on hollow vessel turning. Alvin is drawn to the beauty of the natural edge bowl, as it retains more of the natural characteristics of the tree. Alvin’s work with a large paper company allowed him to visit wood-turners and lather manufacturers all over North America. This has led to an excellent level of versatility and creativity in his bowls.
Michelle and Dayton Scoggins
Michelle and Dayton Scoggins
Heidelberg, MS
Wood
Sculpture
Guild member since 2003
Dayton’s subjects are usually wildlifes. He has given extensive demonstrations across the United States and abroad and has won dozens of awards. Some of these awards include placing third at the invitational English Open Competition, held at the Queen’s estate in Sandringham, and representing the United States in an international event in Japan in 2007. He has taken first place awards in competitions in several states.
Robert and Debra Shinn
Robert and Debra Shinn
Scooba, MS
Metal
Jewelry
Guild member since 2005
Robert and Debra Shinn collaborate on their handmade jewelry designs and productions. They take special delight in updating powerful images from the past for today’s world. They are proud to have been chosen by the Mississippi Band of Choctaws as the first silversmiths in over 200 years to make their traditional silver combs. Their work has been called fantastic, gorgeous, playful, and elegant, but never minimalistic.
Pam Sigman
Pam Sigman
Canton, MS
Fiber
Dolls
Guild member since 2010
Pam Sigman creates intricate porcelain dolls for customers from Mississippi to Australia. Each one is meticulously planned, hand-poured, and painted. Each doll takes 40 or more hours to complete, and Pam finds true joy in making each one of them. Through the years, she has expanded her repertoire to include Christmas ornament, small teacup fairies, life-size dolls, and even dolls that look like customers’ children. Individuals and retail stores throughout the world are purchasing Pam’s dolls. When she isn’t making dolls or spending time with her family, Pam enjoys riding and caring for Tennessee walking horses.
Sisters Creation Studio
Sisters Creation Studio
Denham Spring, LA
Beads
Beadwork
Guild member since 1998
Charles Smith
Charles Smith
Rankin County Ms
Joined the Guild 2023
Wood Sculpture
I live on about forty acres at the end of a long gravel road outside of Star Ms. I am eighty one years old and I am a artist. I have a studio among the shade trees near the house my wife was raised in. This is where I do my work.
I am a self taught painter and wood sculpture. I am told my style is “primitive”. Say what you want, but my stuff is unique.
Wood sculpture is something that is taking up more and more of my time these days. I walk the wood near my home looking for abandoned homesteads hidden away. I find a lot of old growth cedar and cypress at these sites. The more twisted and gnarled a piece of wood is, the better. I dig out the roots, keeping them intact and take back to the house to clean and get started on the trimming and sanding and carving.
Before ever making the first cut I give the wood time to awaken from its long sleep and tell me what it is going to be.
I use small hand tools to carve and shape. I sand in a way to bring out the color and personality of the wood. Natural color is the best. The end result might serve a practical purpose, such as a table. But, I actually prefer it when one of my pieces stands as abstract art.
Jason Smith
Jason Smith
Clinton, MS
Wood/Gourds
Musical Instruments, Banjos, etc.
Guild member since 2014
Jason Smith is a builder and player of banzas. ‘Banza” was the name given in the early French West Indies colonies to a 4-string guitar-like instrument made of a skin-covered half gourd to which is attached a long, flat neck which supports strings. The banza was also called a ‘banjer,’ a banjar,’ and a ‘bandalore,’ and many other terms in the English colonies and mainland. Jason began learning his craft of banza construction in 1993 after meeting Scott Didlake of Jackson, MS. He uses high quality gourds grown primarily in Mississippi, and salvaged Mississippi heart pine, as well as imported wood to build banzas of many different sizes, scale lengths, and string configurations. Banzas can be built with or without frets.
Steve Smith
Steve Smith
Cropwell, AL
Glass, Recycled Bottles
Jewelry, Mosaics
Guild member since 2016
Steve Smith has always been an artist, it just took him about 50 years to realize it! A friend moved, sold him her kiln, and he began experimenting with whatever he could find to melt. Whit Steve’s love of nature and hope to leave this world a better place for those come after us, re- configuring bottles otherwise bound for a landfill seemed a good path to follow. The reflective and sensual nature of the glass invites visual as well as tactile examination. He seeks to create works with balance, harmony, and reflectivity that allows for ever-changing imagery. His pieces are not transparent like stained glass- they look back at you, inviting deeper exploration.
Bryan Smyda
Bryan Smyda
Brandon, MS
Wood
Furniture
Guild member since 2002
Bryan has worked in many mediums, but he loves capturing the beauty of wood for fine furniture. His work ranges from custom kitchens, entertainment centers, beds, tables, mantles, to chairs. He loves to work with both domestic and exotic woods. The mix of traditional and contemporary designs produces a beautiful result.
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.