Mason is a native of Pensacola, Florida, but has been living in Mississippi since 1991. In the late 1980s, she met a first-generation Ukrainian American woman who was living in Pensacola and was a master of pysanky, the Ukrainian egg decorating tradition. Mason worked with the woman from 1986 through 1989 to learn the tradition […]
Bill Mason grew up in Gulfport. He joined the Navy after high school, then attended The University of Southern Mississippi, from which he graduated in 1956. He’s been married 53 years. He and his wife have two children, now a stockbroker and a nurse. Bill had always been interested in woodworking. He retired in Hattiesburg
Although he has been a resident of Mississippi for only three years, Edward Jones has made the buildings found in the southwest part of the state a central focus of his work. Jones was born in Helena, Arkansas in 1917. When he was four years old, his family joined the migration of southern African Americans
Bessie Johnson is a native of the Tibbee community just south of West Point. Both of her parents were active in traditional crafts. Her father wove chair bottoms and baskets and her mother quilted. Johnson was fascinated with their work and began making baskets herself over thirty years ago. She creates them using a variety
Larry House is a master blacksmith living and working in Picayune. His studio, Dragon’s Watch Forge and Foundry is located on the Pechochen Swamp and specializes in hand-crafted weapons including knives, swords, daggers, and axes. In addition to forging steel, Dragon’s Watch also casts pewter and bronze. Larry’s pieces are largely sold at renaissance fairs
Colby Horton has always loved music and finds building fine guitars very satisfying. He lives in Tiplersville, a tiny town in far northern Mississippi. He was born in nearby Ripley, where his father (whose family is from this immediate area) has a small veterinary hospital. His mother also helps out at the clinic now that
Bill Holland was born in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1946 and grew up in its Back Bay neighborhood. The area was home to many of the city’s boatyards and seafood canning factories. His mother worked in the plants and his father served as a schooner captain. Holland grew up playing around the various boatyards in his
Chairmaker Greg Harkins of Vaughn, Mississippi builds rockers and straight chairs from local woods in a style he distilled from a long apprenticeship and association with the traditional furniture makers of the Thomastown area. Born in 1952, Harkins came to chairmaking in the ‘60s and ‘70s just in time to learn from several old-time craftsmen,
Milton Gross of Sardis comes from a family known for its basket making, though he is the last active craftsman among his relatives. Born in 1931, he learned the craft from his grandfather and uncles. His baskets are made of split white oak and come in several sizes, from small ones measuring twelve inches across
Tammy Greer, a member of Southeastern Louisiana’s United Houma Nation, was born in New Orleans. Her parents parted before she was born, and her mother, due to lack of education and resources, felt unable to care for Tammy and her older brother. They were adopted by a traveling minister and his wife, but Tammy was