McCartys Pottery in Merigold; Bodine Pottery in Wiggins; Beans Ferry Pottery in

Fulton; Hinkle Creek Pottery in Corinth; and Crossroads Pottery in Baldwyn.

Scented Creations

Aspen Bay Candles, made in Starkville, smell like Christmas, orchids, citrus and

magnolia, among other scents. The hand-poured candles are made with long-lasting

soy wax blend. Another scent-based business is The Pass Christian Soap Co., which

began with creator Paula Lindsay making soap at home. Among the popular items

are bubble bath “cupcakes.”

Through the Camera Lens

In stores such as Square Books in Oxford or TurnRow Book Company in

Greenwood, you’ll find works by Mississippi photographers. Mississippi,

Photographs by Ken Murphy is the second book by the Bay St. Louis photographer.

His first, My South Coast Home, Photographs of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, is a

reminder of the Coast prior to Hurricane Katrina. Another photographer,

Maude Schuyler Clay, documents the Mississippi Delta in Delta Land. And, with

his wife, Marlo, wildlife photographer Stephen Kirkpatrick has published more

than a dozen books, including Wild Mississippi.

Creative Tastes

Vicksburg claims that the mint julep was named for Mint Springs in the Vicksburg

National Military Park, though some dispute that. No one questions the origins of

comeback sauce, though. The zesty, mayonnaise-based sauce used as a salad dressing,

slathered on sandwiches, and served alongside fries and fried green tomatoes was created

in the 1930s as a house dressing for The Rotisserie, Jackson’s first Greek restaurant.

Since then, chefs across the state have pushed the creative envelope. Among them

are Jonathan “Ty” Thames at Restaurant Tyler in Starkville; John Currence, owner

of City Grocery and three other restaurants in Oxford, and 2009 James Beard

Award winner as “Best Chef in the South”; Robert St. John, who last year opened

his third restaurant, Tabella, in Hattiesburg; Taylor Bowen Ricketts of the Delta

Bistro in Greenwood; and Derek Emerson of Walker’s Drive-In in Jackson.

Making Music

As you travel Mississippi you’ll

hear every kind of music

imaginable. Last year, Jackson

rap artist David Banner was

inducted into the Mississippi

Music Hall of Fame, joining

such famous names as Elvis

Presley, Robert Johnson and

Jimmie Rodgers. But deep in its

soul, this is still a state of the

blues. James “Super Chikan”

Johnson, a frequent performer

at Ground Zero Blues Club

in Clarksdale and winner

of the 2010 Blues Music

Award for Traditional Blues

Album (for his 2009 release,

Chikadelic), helps make

sure it stays that way.

Ginkgo tree photo by Ken Murphy, Oxford 1)

Shearwater Pottery – Jim Anderson, Ocean Springs 2)

Walker’s Drive-In, Jackson 3)

Ohr-O'Keefe Museum, Biloxi 4)

Jimmie Rodgers, Meridian 5)

2

4

5

3

Mississippi, a State for the Arts

Feature