Step up to summer at the June Second Saturday, June 10th.  You'll find cool deals, fresh meals and lots of art and live music.  It's the way we throw a family-friendly party here in the Bay and you're invited! 

Make sure to visit Hot Spot businesses Bay Life Gifts and Gallery (111 Main Street) and Gulf View Properties (111 Court Street). Rory's Jazz Band will be performing at Bay Life 4pm - 7:30pm and  Bronwynn Brent will be performing at Gulf View Properties, 5pm - 8pm.  
- stories by Tracy Shields

111 Court Street
Bay St. Louis
228-304-0636

During the artwork, Rory's Jazz Band will be performing fro 4pm - 7:30pm, and light refreshments will be served.  

After being a part of corporate America for 28 years, Bay Life owner Janice Guido decided she wanted to be her own boss. Janice opened her doors in March of 2015 and has not looked back. 

“I enjoy being my own boss even if it does include sweeping the floors and unpacking heavy boxes,” Guido said. She loves being a part of Old Town Bay St. Louis, and it truly shows in her store. 

Bay Life is designed to inspire all who walk through its doors. Guido has her store set to exhibit the Southern coastal charm of our life in Bay St. Louis and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Its tag line,  "the shop for Bay coastal style," reflects Guido’s intention: “I want people to feel that they can find a little bit of everything for everyone when they enter my store. “ 

This shop features charming gifts for everyday life on the Mississippi Gulf Coast for yourself or for anyone you care about. If you are a visitor, Bay Life is designed to make you smile at the memories of a great getaway where you purchased the perfect gift for yourself or for someone you love. 

Bay Life is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:30–5pm and Sunday noon to 4 during the months of June through August. Come walk around this delightful store, where you will find everything from birthday or wedding gifts, to happy surprises for people dear to you. 

Guido has plenty of home and table décor, and she especially loves selling local artists’ works and Mississippi-made products. 

Bay Life has a little bit of everything for everyone, and you are sure to find what you’re looking for at Bay Life. 
​

111 Court Street
Bay St. Louis
​228-344-3004

During Second Saturday, Bronwynn Brent will be performing from 5pm - 8pm at the Court Street office.  

Kevin Jordan, owner of Gulfview Properties, LLC, knows that opting to rent a house instead of staying at a hotel when traveling adds a more intimate dimension to a vacation. 

Aside from the seclusion, there's your own stocked refrigerator if you crave a midnight snack. It's also a great way to get in with the locals — suddenly you're the new neighbor.

When you factor in the per-day cost as well as room for family members or friends sharing the tab, a week or two at a spacious beach house or cottage can cost far less than a hotel.

Gulfview Properties offers furnished beach houses and cottage vacation rentals on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, primarily here in Bay St. Louis. Each of their Bay St. Louis rentals is a quiet retreat to help you feel right at home, as well as close to all the wonderful attractions that Bay St. Louis has to offer.

All you have to do is slide the key in the lock, and it is home sweet home for your stay. “Bay St. Louis is the perfect town to live in or visit for a stay,” said Jordan. 

Jordan’s family owed the very first vacation home on 121 Seymour Street. Today there are more than 400 vacation homes on the Gulf Coast. 

“I love doing historical restoration, and I never want to sell after I finish with the job. Plus this keeps me out of trouble, for the most part,” said Jordan.

If you are planning your dream vacation to Bay St. Louis, contact Kevin Jordan at Gulfview Properties, 228-344-3004, or go to gulfviewproperties.net.
​

Three very different buildings make up the home of artist Kat Fitzpatrick, yet they magically mesh to create a space where dreams become reality. 
- story and photos by Ellis Anderson 

Acclaimed fiber artist Kerr Grabowski has made her mark on the national art scene, but she's now blazing new trails here in Bay St. Louis. 
- story and photos by Ellis Anderson 

• Kerr’s show at Smith & Lens (106 South Second Street, Bay St. Louis), Primal Territories, can be seen Friday, Saturday and Sunday until June 25th. 
  
• Blue Skies Gallery (200 Jeff Davis Avenue, Long Beach) shows Kerr’s scarves year-round.  Contact Kerr for an appointment to see more of her wearable art or explore Kerr’s website.
  

For most of this stellar career, Kerr created wearable art — painting, printing and dyeing fabric that was then used to construct high fashion, one-of-a-kind garments.  Kerr’s show-stopping silk kimonos might retail for thousands of dollars in a metropolitan gallery.  Since the pieces were naturally limited in production, they became highly sought after by serious fashionistas.   
​

Kerr started making her marks early, in Jasper, Alabama, in the hill country north of Birmingham.  Recognizing her talent early on, her parents signed her up for art classes. But in a bizarre effort to impress Kerr’s parents and keep the lessons going, the art teacher would paint over each of Kerr’s works. The experience almost turned Kerr against art altogether.  

The family moved to Gulfport, where Kerr continued pursuing that eloquent line in high school. After graduation, her parents convinced her that making a living with art was unrealistic,  so she headed off to college majoring in chemistry and biology, first at Mississippi University for Women, and then Mississippi State.  

Leaving school to become a wife and mother, Kerr began painting children’s furniture and purses.  Her success convinced her to return to college, this time for art.  After she obtained her degree from Delta State, the young family moved back to the coast.  Kerr began drawing late at night, then focusing on batik, an ancient method of using wax and dye to produce designs on cloth.

Divorcing when her daughter, Crawford, was six, Kerr had $200 in the bank when she decided to start selling her work at craft shows to pay the bills.  She traveled to regional shows in a 1958 VW van that could “only go for about four hours without breaking down.”  When Crawford had sleepovers, Kerr would enlist (and pay) the children to help iron and sew.   

The business grew, and so did Kerr’s skills.  With a more reliable vehicle, she was able to show at crafts venues in the northeast.  It turned out to be an enormous asset that she’d been working on the Mississippi coast, where fiber artists who might have influenced her work were rare.  In the Northeast, where fine crafts were sought after and revered, Kerr realized that her work and the some of the techniques she’d developed were unique. 

Kerr hired assistants and purchased a studio in Pass Christian.  By the mid-’80s, she’d become a shoo-in for highly competitive shows featuring the top craftspeople in the country, like the Smithsonian.  Gallery owners across the country snapped up her work.  

She’d been considering moving to the Northeast when she was offered a position as head of the fiber program at the prestigious Peter’s Valley Crafts Center on the Delaware River in New Jersey. 

“I felt immediately at home in those woods,” she says.  “The rock formations and the forests seemed just like the ones I’d loved as a child in Huntsville.  It turns out they’re both bookends of the Appalachian Mountains.  The job was for three years.  I stayed for nine.  I did a lot of adjunct teaching in the surrounding universities during that time.”  

In the mid-’90s she purchased a derelict historic building in downtown Sussex, New Jersey, 60 miles from New York City.  She rehabbed the bottom floor, and it served as her gallery, studio and living space.  

She continued teaching, extending her range exponentially in 2007 when she made a DVD demonstrating her signature deconstructed screen-printing technique.  The DVD sold internationally, and the invitations to teach outside the country began arriving regularly.  
​

But her granddaughter was born in Jackson, Mississippi that same year, and Kerr began to feel the tug to return to the South.  Artist friends, including Vicki Niolet, Kat Fitzpatrick, J.J. Foley, John McKellar, and Bill Myers, all urged her to move back.  

In 2010, she found the perfect house on Keller Street in Bay St. Louis.  With an original historic cottage and a small contemporary guesthouse, it provided ample space for both home and studio.  The guesthouse had been renovated, but the restoration of the 1920s cottage had stopped mid-stream.  After its purchase, she flew back and forth to supervise the construction.  When it was completed in 2011, Kerr moved to Bay St. Louis full time.  

“I love the vibe here,” she says.  “I can sit on my porch, or walk over to the Mockingbird [Café] and meet friends and have coffee.  There’s a wonderful energy in this town.  And the arts scene across the whole Mississippi coast is really taking off.” 

Soon, locals interested in learning from Kerr won’t have to fly to Australia to take one of her classes.  She’ll be offering instruction at the new Bay Creative Arts Center later this year.  

“There’s a supportive group of very talented people making art here, out of the love of making.  The show at Smith & Lens really made me feel like I’m a part of that community.“

Live Music:  
~ Christian Serpas and Ghost Town at the Mockingbird Café (110 S. Second Street), 6pm - 9pm.  
~ Dave Mayley Band, Daiquiri Shak (112 Court Street), 5pm - 9pm.  

​Jamie Temple is no stranger to the hospitality business. As a young man in New Jersey, he helped out with his grandparents’ diner, which looked like an old rail car.
 
Today, he owns one of Bay St. Louis’s most charming breakfast and lunch spots, the Buttercup Cafe.
 
“We serve uncomplicated comfort food,” Temple said. 
 
Eggs, omelets, scrambles, sandwiches, salads, quiches, soups, burgers, pancakes and more are available all day.
 
“You can order a burger at 7 a.m. and a crawfish omelet moments from closing time,” Temple said.
 
Rumor has it, the Rueben sandwich rivals some in New York delis. Other favorites include shrimp & grits, the flame-broiled yellow fin tuna salad, Cuban sandwiches and wraps. The Buttercup also specializes in freshly baked pastries from in-house recipes. 
 
There are no fryers at The Buttercup. Even the hash browned potatoes are baked, then grilled.
 
“The potatoes are so good, we name ’em,” Temple said.
 
If al fresco dining is your thing, the Buttercup’s porch and patio are the perfect (pet friendly!) place to perch for a morning or midday bite. Inside, the walls are covered in vibrant Southern folk art.
 
“I get a kick when New Orleans artists come over and see their stuff on the walls,” Temple said. 
 
The Buttercup Cafe is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Temple says he enjoys his “breakfast club” regulars, but also loves seeing the Bay through the eyes of all the new tourists. 
 
The Buttercup doesn’t take reservations, but Temple always says it’s a nice place to take your mother to breakfast. Whether it’s a sleepy Tuesday morning or a busy Mother’s Day Sunday, Temple and his staff are waiting to welcome you with a hot cup of coffee, a cool drink and food for every taste.
 
“We get so many wonderful visitors in the restaurant — Bay St. Louis is like Mayberry with a beach.” 

​For Second Saturday, the Daiquiri Shak will host the Dave Mayley Band from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
 
Rhonda and Gus Finnely’s weekend getaways to the Bay have become a second life.
 
Rhonda and her husband, along with their son Caleb, have opened the Daiquiri Shak in Old Town on Court Street.
 
Recently retired from banking, Rhonda is enjoying her new lease on life behind the counter at the Daiquiri Shak, mixing and naming new flavors for the folks of Bay St. Louis. 
 
The nautical and beachy theme of the Daiquiri Shak is carried through to names of new daiquiris like Beach Bum, Mermaid Juice, Blue Hawaiian and Cajun Cadillac. Of course, standard favorites like margarita, hurricane, strawberry, pina colada, 190 octane, white Russian and more are available. 
 
The offerings have grown each month. The Shak now has ten machines, up from their original six, and one still dedicated to virgin daiquiris. The family has come up with 40 different flavor combinations, but the possibilities are endless as they will mix any flavor combination requested. 
 
Daiquiri Shak also offers seasonal favorites, like their signature Mardi Gras Mambo and King Cake daiquiri for carnival season and egg nog for the holidays. `
 
“The Mardi Gras Mambo was so popular that we are still carrying it,” Rhonda said.
 
This summer look for new flavors like Peach Bellini, and for Cinco de Mayo expect some new margarita flavors and specials to hit the menu. 
 
Thanks to Bay St. Louis’s new go-cup friendly laws, the daiquiris have been a big hit in Old Town, popular for the special events, Second Saturdays and perfect for sipping on the beach. 
 
“A lot of our customers love taking our drinks to the beach,” Rhonda said.
 
The shop also offers seating and televisions for those who want to sit and cool off. 

Bay St. Louis teaching artists are part of a growing trend called "experience vacations" - where visitors take home new skills along with fun coastal memories. 
- story by Lisa Monti

The Shoofly's Art Teachers page is now a permanent community resource, so share with friends and visitors!  You'll find it under our "Local Info" menu (at the top of every page).  

The 7,500-square-foot facility at the corner of Washington Street and Central Avenue, houses a state-of-the-art pottery studio with eight wheels, multiple electric and Raku kilns and handbuilding equipment. There’s also a yoga/dance studio, metalworking shop and multimedia maker space. 
 
Steve Barney, the CAC’s director, has ambitious plans to make it a destination for snowbird artists. “There is a large demographic of semi-retired professionals in colder climates who are avid artists and are looking for opportunities to combine studio time with a mid-winter coastal retreat,” he said.
 
Barney is teaming  up with Kevin Jordan, owner of Gulf View properties, to offer all-inclusive two- and four-week artisan retreat packages. Guests will be housed in Jordan’s guesthouses, studios and vacation homes within a block or two from the CAC.

“We will pick them up at the airport and provide them with everything they need to be a Bay artist in residence at the CAC,” Barney said. A typical day includes morning yoga, studio instruction, a midday group meal and open studio. 
 
In addition to pottery and metalworking classes, artists can explore other mediums such as stained glass and silkscreening. 
 
Local transportation options include a shared golf cart and fleet of beach cruiser bikes. Weekend excursions into New Orleans and other coastal destinations are planned. The first artisan retreat package is scheduled for January 13–February 17, 2018. 
 
“Interest in our artisan retreat programs has been strong and we expect this program to grow slowly over time as word gets out,” Barney said.
 
For those not requiring accommodations or are interested in special arrangements, the CAC offers customized packages to visiting artists.
 
To book a spot in the 2018 retreat or for other information about CAC programs, email Steve Barney [email protected] or call/text 228-342-7668.

Regan Carney is an acclaimed potter who produces functional fine art in clay in her studio in the Bay Artists’ Coop at 415 S. Necaise Avenue. She received a BFA in 1980 from Tulane University and has made and shown clay art in Santa Fe, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Biloxi, Ocean Springs and Bay St. Louis.
 
Her work is widely featured, including locally in Gallery 220 and the Lawson Studio. Carney teaches beginner through master level classes at the coop.
 
“I am happy to teach any level in general or specific techniques. I teach both throwing on the wheel or handbuilding functional ware or sculptural forms. Usually throwing takes the most amount of time,” she said.
 
To make the experience the best it can be, Carney requires at least three weeks’ lead time to set up a private workshop for one up to six students.
 
“I need to know the level of expertise, if there is any, and if there is to be a focus.
I also need to know how long they are going to be in the area and how much of that time do they want to spend in the studio,” said Carney. Her workshops have been two days to six weeks. “Communication is key with this kind of workshop,” she said.
 
For more information, call 228-216-0210.

To take a peek at the variety of creations hatching at 102 Blaize Avenue (across from the Duck Pond), visit the Facebook page for The Nest – A Comfy Place to Create.

Bay High’s Digital Media program has young directors putting their work into the public eye.
– Karen Fineran

​On screen, the saloon door suddenly slams open, and a mysterious miner dressed in black shambles in from the cold. After shooting back a drink and buying a round for the crowd, the stranger ambles to the piano and begins playing a curiously plaintive tune.

Lady Lou and her lover (who we learn from the narration is Dangerous Dan McGrew) are scrutinizing the newcomer. The curiosity of the audience grows as Dan’s face freezes. The stranger stops playing, pronouncing loudly that “one of you is a hound of hell . . . and that one is Dan McGrew.”

The lights blink out; gunshots erupt.

The setting for this film was not a local movie theater, but the familiar Mockingbird Café in downtown Bay St. Louis. The event was the first short film showcase to be featured as part of Hancock County’s Arts Alive Festival, held this year on March 18. The film was The Shooting of Dan McGrew, an interpretation of the famous 1907 narrative poem of the same name by Canadian poet Robert Service.

​Dan McGrew was just one of 11 short films that were submitted by students from area schools, including Bay High’s Digital Media program, and screened at the Mockingbird as part of this year’s Arts Alive. Dan McGrew was a big hit with the audience, who particularly enjoyed the twist ending that startled them after the closing credits.

​The Shooting of Dan McGrew is the “baby” of Bay High sophomore Cameron Adams, who edited, acted, and directed with co-director Quinn Radler.

Cameron explains the genesis of Dan McGrew:  “In my English class, we were given the assignment to create a visual interpretation of one of the poems in our textbook. It was easy to see, after flipping through the poems that we had to choose from, that Dan McGrew would be fun to make, and easy to visualize on film.

"We shot it in about five hours at my parents’ empty house that we had just moved from.”

Cameron has been making movies since elementary school. He plans to apply to colleges with film schools and possibly to attend film summer camp this summer.

Other short films screened that night, all under eight minutes, including several intimate looks at grief, loss, and learning experienced by teens, as well as some lighthearted comedies, including a horror parody stop-motion animated Legos short by Landon Brady and Aidan Pohl, depicting a “Horrorible Love.” 

​Other Bay High students who contributed films to Arts Alive this year included Grace Powell, Corey Jennings, Alyssa Juge, and Seth Denison.

​Short films make up a unique medium that lends itself neatly to artistic experimentation by emerging filmmakers who don’t have to spend the small fortune it would take to make a full-length feature film.

Audiences appreciate short-form films; it’s much easier to ask people to watch a five-minute short film than a feature-length one — especially if it comes across your Facebook feed, and then you end up watching it on your iPhone.

“This year, the short film showcase for Arts Alive was really all just pulled together at the last minute, but then we had such an amazing response to it!” says Martha Whitney Butler, President of the Arts, Hancock County.

“First, I came across Dan McGrew and other Bay High short films, and at the last minute, there was even a student from the University from Pennsylvania in the audience who asked me if we could add his film to the lineup, and we were able to do it!  The audience was blown away!” 

​Butler is thrilled that the Beacon Theater in Waveland is now in discussions with Hancock Arts to show student films before their feature movies, and perhaps to hold a Student Film Screening Night. 

​ Butler hopes to hold a short film contest next year in addition to a film showcase, and to find local sponsors to give awards. In addition to asking schools to find talented young filmmakers, she also hopes to find more established emerging filmmakers who wish to participate in the showcase and the contest.

“I believe that this might have been our most successful Arts Alive event ever, and we definitely plan to hold it next year!” she enthused.

Bay High Digital Media Technologies teacher Tarah Herbert loves working with the budding student filmmakers. She is especially enthusiastic that, this month, Bay High is submitting several short films, including Dan McGrew, to the Mississippi High School Film Competition, part of the Tupelo Film Festival, established in 2004.
 
Bay High Digital Media Technologies teacher Tarah Herbert loves working with the budding student filmmakers.  She is thrilled that, earlier this month, after Bay High submitted several of its short films to the Mississippi High School Film Competition, which is part of the Tupelo Film Festival, her Bay High students cleanly swept the top awards at the competition! 

Bay High senior Landon Brady took the top prize, winning a partial scholarship to an esteemed arts school in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as $650 cash.  His film “Mismo” (the Spanish word for “the same”) is the story of a young man who awakens in the woods after a bout of drinking, confused about how he got there.  A woman in white leads him through a dreamlike journey of his memories until he reaches the realization of why he is there.

Landon, who is starting at Mississippi State University this fall, explained that although his video started off as a school project, now that he has completed several short videos, digital media has become a true passion.  Though MSU does not have a film program, Landon feels that he learned the basics from Bay High’s Digital Media program, so that he can continue pursuing this interest on his own.

Cameron Adam’s “Shooting of Dan McGrew” won second place and “Audience Favorite,” winning $600 that Cameron hopes to be able to use toward a film camp or program.  And Bay High junior Grace Powell took the third place trophy, and a $150 prize, with her film “Perceive,” her luminous observation of the surrealistic experience of “lucid dreaming.”  Both “Mismo” and “Percieve” were shot in familiar settings in Bay St. Louis, though they are altered by the student’s ethereal visions.

“It’s such amazing luck that we won all three top prizes given by the film festival!” Hebert enthused.  “The kids deserved it – they worked so hard.  These kids are amazing.  They are so excited right now!”

The Tupelo Film Festival competition this year was held on April 22.  This is the third year that the Tupelo Film Festival, established in 2004, has featured a high school short film competition, to promote the art of filmmaking and to encourage student amateur filmmakers to hone their skills. 

​It is the first year that Bay High has participated in the competition, but it will surely not be the last.  This is the first year that the awards included scholarships to the Watkins College for Art, Design and Film in Nashville, Tennessee. 

The colorful and beloved folk artist left behind a lasting legacy in her adopted town of Bay St. Louis.  Step into her world of antiques, art and most of all, laughter. 
- by Lisa Monti  

Flash fiction: Writers entering the literary component of the annual Arts Alive! festival in April were given 400 words, an intriguing prompt and only a few hours to come up with a compelling short story.  Read the work of the winners!

1st Place
"Yours and Mine"
by Jane Clair Tyner

Not to touch it was my first reaction. Last night’s high tide must have washed it up on Henderson Point. After 26 years as wife, 23 as mother, I could no longer distinguish between instinct and obligation. I found the nearest plastic bag and used it to pull the carcass from the water’s edge. I examined it, considering all the options of its life, its journey to Mississippi’s shores. There was slight comfort in imagining a death that wasn’t the result of trophy fishing or otherwise succumbing to man’s disregard.

I thought about how when I first began my Sunday morning scavenger hunts, John would sift through my finds with me when I returned home. His interest was feigned; maybe that’s the most loving of all interest a spouse can give. I thought about when he quit. Was it before or after the girls started high school? Did I quit showing him or did he quit asking to see? I thought about anything to forget you were late.

Seventeen months and three weeks. That’s how long since our first meeting. Seventy-five Sundays later, we’ve missed eight. One to your father’s death, two for rain that wouldn’t cease, John’s broken arm, the remainder to family vacations--yours and mine. It was three weeks ago you told me you’d wait until I was ready...ready. That word has so consumed my thoughts the past three weeks, I can’t remember its meaning. I’ve looked it up on dictionary.com, reading it over and over, even out loud. That only made it all the more nonsensical. How does one prepare to leave the life they’ve sacrificed for and to for 26 years?
​   
A squall was building out by the island. John wouldn’t question my returning home so early once it made land. You’re nineteen minutes late now. I walk back to my car as slowly as I can, burying my feet deeper into the sand with each step, wrestling against the wind at my back. Leaving you, even leaving waiting for you is always brutal. I pull my phone from the console hoping to read your most frequently uttered phrase to me, something about waiting. No text message, an email, “She knows.” It felt nothing as I expected. It felt like movement without question. It felt like instinct. It felt like I was ready.

2nd Place
"On the Beach"
Phil Levin

Her scent captivated me, a smell of fresh dew on a meadow, mixed with the salt aroma of an off-sea breeze. Not to touch her was my first reaction, figuring last night’s tide must have washed her up on Henderson Point.  Dawn barely broken, I set the ice chest down, plunging my fishing pole into the sand and watching Snuffy, my little terrier, approach her cautiously, giving the mermaid one of his sniff-snuffles.

Her eyes snapped open, irises the azure of the sun glistening off the deep sea, her sweet red lips opening in a little pout as she flicked her tail once or twice, shaking off the debris.

“Do you speak?” I asked, taking a step closer and squatting next to her.  I reached out gingerly, running a finger along her scales.  Surprisingly soft, they squeaked under my touch.

Her voice had a lyrical tone, a hypnotizing allure of Odyssey’s sirens.  “Ah yes, mighty human.  I know your tongue.  My people have followed your ships for hundreds of generations, guiding them from storms, unsnarling your nets, always befriending those with legs.”

She squirmed a bit, digging herself deeper into the sand.  “And you, bold master, what brings you to this sandy shore so early in the morning?”

I pointed back at my pole.  “Out to do some fishing.  Hoping to catch a big one today for a fish fry party planned for tonight.  Got the gang coming over to watch the game.”

The mermaid gave me a sweet smile.  “I could help with that.  I’m afraid the storm last night washed me too high up on the dunes for me to get back to the sea by myself.  If you could pick me up and carry me back in the water, I’d surely catch you a gigantic fish, maybe two.”

I stood and looked out on the Gulf.  Protected by the sound, with the passing of the storm the water lay still and dead, the chance of me catching anything significant today seemed slim.  I picked her up and cuddled her against my chest, raising from a squat carefully.  She began squirming as I walked away from the shore towards my truck.

“What?  Where are you taking me?”
​
“Home to place you in my big cooking pot.  With a bit of cayenne pepper, I bet you’ll be delicious!” 

3rd Place
"Six Reactions to a Steak Dinner on the Beach"
by Steve Hoffman

Not to touch it was my first reaction. Last night’s high tide must have washed it up on Henderson Point. But who would go to the trouble of preparing a really nice steak dinner with grilled fingerlings and asparagus spears only to place it in a small flotation device and send it on it’s way?

No one was my second reaction. But there it is with a 2014 vintage bottle of Conundrum. This is my favorite meal. This. This is no accident.

My third reaction was – I’m being watched. Where are the cameras? A crack team of culinary students have embedded themselves in the sand and they are watching, waiting to see if I bite.

My fourth reaction was – I forgot to take my medication. No. I distinctly remember taking it. This is real. This is happening. I am on the Food Network right now. And how viral would it be if I stripped bare and devoured that Cowboy Cut with my bare hands? If I took their wine, their properly poured offering and smashed it upside my head. What if I began to chug straight from the bottle letting the majority spill all over my naked body. They’d never see that coming. But it’s always that one percent of doubt that when I got home I’d find the pill still in the organizer looking up at me as if to say, “that was a close one.”

This is my last meal, isn’t it? If I sit down and partake, a ninja lurking behind the grassy dune will take his bamboo blow gun and punctuate my last swallow with a poison dart to the neck. Funny that I should go the same way my father did. That was my fifth reaction.

This line of thinking usually convinces me that I did indeed forget to take my medication. But not this time. There was no denying the steak dinner. It was there. I could smell it. Not knowing what to do, I sat there all day long and stared at it. As the sun dipped below the horizon, a girl sat down beside me. To life, we toasted with a full moon rising. She took the first bite, then I took mine. It had sand in it. I thought, “I’ve made a huge mistake.” That was my sixth reaction.

Untitled 
by Nonie Johns

Not to touch it was my first reaction.  Last night's high tide must have washed it up on Henderson Point: a plastic garbage bag billowing in the breezes.  Besides, I could see the outline of something inside...something BIG.  Moving closer, hoping that it was not a bag of body parts, I saw square corners poking at the sides of the bag.  I knelt down on the sand,tearing the plastic open with the help of my trusty Swiss Army Knife.  Inside, I found a large padlocked wooden box with a tiny key inserted in the lock.

Well, what would you do?  I opened it. Most of us have been taught to respect other people's property, their privacy.  In my case, however -- born with an insatiable curiosity-- I find it difficult not to inspect closely things that interest me, especially if they don't belong to me, or if I find them on the beach.  The key was already THERE, calling me -- no DEMANDING that I open that box, and I did.

I hadn't noticed that the box was hinged, further proof of permission to explore, and as the front of the box opened, I saw the most amazing thing.  A beautiful doll house, painted dark blue, white shingles on the roof, white gingerbread trim around the doors, windows and under the eaves.  Real glass windows showing tiny curtains drawn from the inside. Like Pandora, I just HAD to see the inside of that tiny house.  I opened it, how smoothly that front door swung aside, and inside, INSIDE~ was a damn dream of a dollhouse. 

Every room with lovingly crafted furniture.  Not jumbled or tumbled as one would expect from being tossed about in the Bay, but fastened to floors and walls with some kind of barnacle glue, keeping sofa, chairs, desk, and rugs on the floor, teensy copies of the old masters on the walls.  The beds with their dust ruffles and comforters smoothly inviting.  A kitchen to die for; cupboard filled with Blue Willow dishes.  A bitsy wine rack on the counter, waiting for an exhausted, very small homeowner to come and have a glass. The whole house - the original tiny house intact, expecting, waiting for some beloved child to play with it.

I considered hauling it home.  I found it, after all.  But the very best gifts are the ones we share. I left it there.

"To Know"
by John Herron

"Not to touch it was my first reaction", Rick said as he stared blankly down at the pavement.

"Last night's high tide must have washed it up on Henderson point." He took a deep drag of his cigarette. 

"You ever see something Mort, that makes you question what your even doing here?" 

"In Biloxi?", Mort asked as he furrowed his salt and pepper eyebrows. 

"No, think bigger Mort.", Rick looked up and met Mort's eyes. "I mean here, in this world, on this planet. What greater purpose do we serve? Are we just here to consume and accumulate waste?" 

"Does this have to do with what you saw at Henderson point?" Mort asked. 

Rick looked down at his shoes and sucked on his cigarette. "Dammit Mort. Have you ever seen something that made you feel so small, like everything you thought you knew was just a tiny speck in a vast universe?" 

Morton thought about this for a minute and said, "I once saw a man beheaded in a town square for stealing bread. It made me feel like I was ungrateful for all I have. Is that what you mean?" 

"Mort, on the beach that night." The eyes that looked at Mort were blank. The man under them was on standby, just along for the ride. All fear and worry had been drained until there was just a shell of a man with autopilot behind the wheel. "It was something I had never seen. It's eyes were knowing, Mort. It knew what I was, and I could feel it." 

"What did it look like, Rick? Some kind of fish?" 

Rick darted his eyes to the pavement. "No."  

"Well, what was it?" Mort said. "You sound like a crazy person." 

"Maybe I am", Rick said in a starry voice. "But only because I looked into its eyes. I saw Mort. I saw and I saw and I saw. Forever. The world broke away from me, and I knew. I knew things that had only been dreamed of. I could see the world, Mort, and its end." 

"My nose had began to bleed." Rick said and Mort looked disgusted. 

"That's when I fainted, but when I awoke Mort, I knew the meaning of life. Why we are here and the full potential we all have." 
​
"What is it" Mort asked. Rick smiled and wrapped his arms around his friend.

Artists Dale and Pam Simmons's combined creative vision allowed them to see the possibilities in this Waveland fixer-upper, now a welcoming home and studio.  
- story by Ellis Anderson, photos by Ellis Anderson and Pam Simmons

Demonstrating artists and a series of live, competitive events make this art show different from any other in the region.  Find out what's in store for this year's Arts Alive! festival.
- story by Lisa Monti, photos by Ellis Anderson and Cynthia Mahner

"Every year we are astounded by the outpouring of interesting and talented artists. We want the community to know them and their artistic processes, while fostering relationships between the people and businesses here," said Martha Whitney Butler, Arts President. ​

An ever-evolving event, the organizers are promising to continue "Celebrating Art, Engaging Communities, Enriching Lives."

The format of ArtsAlive! is tailored to Old Town, the heart of the well-known Bay St. Louis arts community that’s filled with more than 70 galleries, shops and restaurants. The beachfront downtown area is made for walking and there is convenient parking nearby in the municipal garage on Court Street. First-time visitors will quickly see why Bay St. Louis has landed on so many lists for visitors.

ArtsAlive! consists of showcases for artists and artisans, filmmakers and songwriters and contests with cash prizes for writers, singer-songwriters and amateur chefs.

Artist and Artisan Showcase:
Regional artists and artisans will be found throughout the historic downtown district at host locations, demonstrating and discussing their work as well as selling it.  
 
Apply to the Artist Showcase or the Artisan Showcase on The Arts website. 

Songwriters’ Showcase: 
 
Popular local musicians Rochelle Harper and Boz, who have played for audiences around the world, will be judging the contest, which is produced by the Mockingbird Cafe (110 South Second Street) in partnership with The Arts, Hancock County.
 
The public is invited to live performances by contest semi-finalists beginning at 3 p.m. Winners will be announced 15 minutes after the last finalist performs. The top three winners will take home cash prizes of $150, $75 and $50.

Flash Fiction Contest: 
The topic will be revealed to entrants at 10 a.m. at Bay Books (131 Main St.) and they have until 1 p.m. to turn in their 400 word (or less) pieces.  Writers will read their own entries aloud to an audience and be judged between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., when cash prizes will be awarded.

​Short Film Showcase:
New this year is a short film category, featuring works by local filmmakers. The films will close out the evening.

Culinary Showcase: 
 
Three chef judges will pick the top three entries of amateur chefs in a Serious Salsa Down South competition hosted by Serious Bread (131 Main St. Suite D) in partnership with The Arts, Hancock County!
 
Entries will be judged on taste as well as presentation and originality. After the judging, 50 members of the public selected on a first come, first serve basis will sample the entries and select one as the People's Choice winner.

​In conjunction with ArtsAlive! there will be a juried show reception March 17 for members and patron of The Arts, Hancock County, and the Pass Christian Art Association upstairs at 200 North Beach Restaurant. Pieces will be on display until the end of the month. 
 
The goal continues to be showcasing and promoting the best of the arts. With the support of ArtsAlive! sponsors and other partners, members of The Arts, Hancock County are fostering the next generation of artists and encouraging more interest in art through their activities.

Noted author Katy Simpson Smith spearheads a program that brings writers into high schools, challenging students to tackle problems in their own communities - with the power of the pen. 
- by LB Kovac

Smith is an author by trade - her first novel, “The Story of Land and Sea” (2014), was released to good reviews, and her latest novel, “Free Men”, has similarly received high praise from publications like “Vogue,” “The Washington Post,” and “The New York Times.”

And so it makes sense that, from her initial inspiration in that high school classroom, Smith would develop a way to demonstrate to students the power of their words.

Heirs of that Revolution ​

​Smith is behind Write for Mississippi (WFM), an organization that seeks to “use creative writing and storytelling to further the causes of community engagement, social justice, free speech, historical responsibility…” WFM’s latest advocacy uses writing as a “springboard for action,” empowering students – students at high schools across all 82 counties of Mississippi – to pinpoint and address problems within their own communities.

​With her project, Smith poses two questions to Mississippi’s students: “What is a problem within your community? How could you fix it?” Dubbed, “What Can We Do For Our Country?” WFM marries writing, duty, and advocacy.

Smith’s questions are questions that writers from every generation of American history have considered. One example is Maya Angelou, author of the poem, “Still I Rise.” Published in 1978, the poem speaks to the era’s restrictions imposed on the civil liberties of African Americans.

By the simple act of writing the poem, Angelou brought to light a pressing problem in her own community.

Smith hopes that students will be inspired by the works of writers like Angelou, Danez Smith, Langston Hughes, and others. By getting students to engage with issues personal to them and asking them to think about possible solutions, Smith says it will “provoke students into thinking of themselves as agents of change.” From there, who knows what will happen?

A Special Pledge

This isn’t Smith’s first foray into civic action. Last year, Smith created an alliance of 95 writers to petition against Mississippi’s H.B.1523, also known as the “Religious Liberty Accommodations Act” or “First Amendment Defense Act.”   

This bill, which Governor Phil Bryant signed into law, would make it legal for organizations, businesses, and private citizens to discriminate against patrons or employees based on their perceived sex or their sexual orientation. 

The response to Smith’s latest project, Write For Mississippi so far has been heartening. More than 40 writers have volunteered their time and skills to lead the project’s proposed 50-minute classroom workshops. Teachers and educators in 22 of Mississippi’s counties have responded with requests for these visiting writer’s workshops. And a GoFundMe page set up to cover costs reached more than 85% of its goal in less than 18 days (click on the link to donate to the project).

But Smith isn’t satisfied with those numbers. She’d like to have all 82 counties in Mississippi represented in the project.

Area teachers interested in participating in “What Can We Do For Our Country?” can contact Smith through the Write for Mississippi website. Smith will pair each classroom with a writer and plan the workshop sometime between the beginning of February and the end of April, schedules permitting.

And educators unable to accommodate writers can lead their own workshops with the classroom materials and sample lesson plan provided on the Write for Mississippi website.

A Celebration of Freedom

​Smith says that the ultimate goal of the project, beyond inspiring the children to take initiative and seek to change things in their own communities, is to collect the best poems, essays, and short stories that come out of the workshops and publish them as a collection in a book to be distributed across the state.

This way, other students across the state will feel empowered to address issues in their own communities. And, among the voices of the next generation of Mississippi writers, there might be another Kennedy, Smith, or Angelou.

Pass Christian filmmaker Patrick O'Connor's award-winning documentary takes a hard look at marginalized patients struggling with the juggernaut of the American health care system.
- by LB Kovac

Two local screenings of "The Invisible Patients" in March:

• The Pass Christian Library (324 E 2nd St, Pass Christian, MS · (228) 452-4596), Wednesday, March 15, 6:30pm.
• The Bay St. Louis Library  (312 Hwy 90, Bay St. Louis, (228) 467-6836) Thursday, March 30th at 6pm.  

Last year, Americans visited the doctor more than 70 million times, per statistics from Azuria, Inc. Of those visits, a mere 0.6% were house calls, or visits where a medical professional went to a patient residence. Compare that to the 1960s and earlier– not even 70 years ago – when 40% or more of doctor’s visits were house calls.

The shift from home-based medical care to doctor’s office visits, clinic diagnoses, and emergency room treatment, came about in part because of medical specialization, the practice where doctors become knowledgeable in a very narrow field of medicine. Medical specialization has led to better surgery practices, advancements in medical technology, and treatments for numerous once-fatal diseases, but it offers few options for people like Roger.

Roger is a part of a group called “homebound patients,” patients Medicaid defines as having “a condition [with which] leaving the home is medically contraindicated;” symptoms like pain or confusion worsen for these patients when they leave home, even if it is for doctor visits or medical emergencies.

These are the people that director Patrick O’Connor seeks to uplift in “The Invisible Patients,” people with little time, few options, and for which practiced medical attention and compassion are absolutely vital. These people are not well-served by a medical system that emphasizes medical specialization for day-to-day care.

And this is also where people like Jessica come in. Jessica is a licensed nurse practitioner (NP) in Indiana and works as part of MD2U, an “in-home primary care network” that provides regular medical attention to homebound or home-limited patients.

Jessica makes house calls for patients like Roger. She visits them in their homes several times a month, providing them with the medical care that best suits their conditions. She gives physical examinations, checks vitals, prescribes medications, and speaks with the patients about their ongoing illnesses, all in the comfort of the patient’s bedroom, living room, or kitchen.

Roger is lucky in at least one way – his house calls are covered by Medicaid. But the same cannot be said for Patty, one of the other patients the documentary focuses on. Patty is in her early 70s and “multimorbid,” or suffering from multiple chronic conditions, including arthritis.

That’s because there is another factor in this equation: money.

Patty often struggles with getting house calls, medications, and doctor’s visits covered by Medicare.  Early in the film, she is dropped by her insurance for making too much money. Then, one of her more expensive medications is not covered by her insurance. Then, a doctor refuses her insurance coverage and sends her away. Although Medicare does provide some financial help, it does not cover all of Patty’s medical costs, and, due to mounting expenses, she is left without medical care.

Without Jessica, many of her patients would either be in nursing homes or completely without medical care. Patty and her husband, Wink, go eight months without medical attention, according to the film.

O’Connor, who has writing credits like “Sacred Hearts” and “Ricochet River,” says that there were even challenges to filming, largely owing to Jessica’s rather intense schedule. She sees 8-10 patients a day and drives around 60 miles, in order to be able to see them all.

If it weren’t for Jessica’s manic schedule, many of these patients would have to live in nursing homes, or, worse, not get regular medical care at all. Jessica and her “team of three nurse practitioners” are responsible for more than 500 patients across two states. 

Not all states offer in-home health as part of Medicare and Medicaid plans. The Independence at Home project, an initiative to test the viability of in-home health services for Medicare and Medicaid patients, is in the middle of a three-year study of fourteen healthcare providers. In the first year of testing of the study, one clinic saved Medicare more than $13,000 a patient; savings like that might eventually translate to an expansion of in-home health services in other states.

“The Invisible Patients” doesn’t attempt to tie this situation up in a big red bow. There’s not a happy ending to Roger’s story; the documentary’s denouement centers on his passing from complications related to Duchenne. Jessica plainly addresses the camera and says that “he was gone” when his mother woke up that morning.

There is some hope. Because of Jessica’s services – because of the existence of in-home medical attention and his access to it - Roger spends his last few days surrounded by his family. He even gets to meet his nephew.

But more work needs to be done so that other patients – patients like Patty – also have access to this kind of care. O’Connor says that “expanding the roles [of] Nurse Practitioners – allowing them to take more direct control of patient care,” some of the burden of homebound patients’ medical care  can be alleviated. This will require changes to Medicaid and Medicare regulations, such as in this bill.

Simple awareness is also helpful. O’Connor and his team are doing a free screenings of “The Invisible Patients” at the Pass Christian Library at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 and at the Bay St. Louis Library  (312 Hwy 90, Bay St. Louis, (228) 467-6836) Thursday, March 30th at 6pm.  ​By simply seeing these patients and listening to their stories, they become less invisible.

After years of being a nomadic gallery, The Arts, Hancock County finds a permanent showcase for artists in the new Waveland City Hall. 
 - by Janet Densmore

The gallery has been housed in various locations through the years, but its establishment in the new Coleman Avenue government center is a homecoming of sorts.  Pre-Katrina, local artist and potter Regan Carney and her friend Janet Dudding – who worked at the original Waveland city hall – put the empty walls to good use, showcasing work by members of The Arts, Hancock County. ​

​Post-Katrina, there were no walls of the building remaining.  For a time the Gallery was hosted by the Pearl River Community College on Highway 90, known as the Wave Gallery.  Local artists showed alongside students under careful coordination by volunteer Joan Coleman.
 
Later, the Hancock Chamber lent additional wall space in their Court Street office in Bay St. Louis for artists to exhibit. A hanging system and display cases were installed there and at the PRCC, courtesy of post-hurricane recovery funds.
 
Eventually, these venues changed use or moved.  The gallery once again found itself “homeless.”  Then Waveland’s Lisa Planchard and Mayor David Garcia agreed that the empty walls at the city’s sleek new government building could use some art. Mayor Garcia pointed out that "ours is an artist's community, and what better place to showcase that community than our public buildings?" 
 
With the support of city officials and the help of volunteer/photographer Joe Tomosovsky, the hanging system was installed at the new location.  Marilynn Arseneau, then president of The Arts organization, prevailed upon her husband, Paul, to help move the display cases from the Depot and the PRCC - no light task.
 
But while the space had all the elements necessary, there was no one to curate or to organize shows. 
 
After retiring from a two-year stint as president of The Arts, Hancock, Marilyn Arseneau, took on the challenge of managing the gallery.   Along with assistant gallery director and artist Sandra Bagley, the gallery presented juried art exhibits in the lobby, with opening receptions that including food and music. The guest list became a mailing list.  After two years, they handed the baton back to artist Regan Carney, with the help of this writer, Janet Densmore.  The adventure had come full circle. 
 
Under Carney’s watch, exhibits began to extend beyond traditional fine arts and photography to fabric artists, jewelry designers, floral designers, etc, Perhaps the most popular exhibit was the show by Dale Pohl's elementary school art students in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade - a riot of happy colors. 
 
Currently, through Thursday, February 2nd, 2017, clay work by gallery founder Regan Carney is showing alongside watercolors by Herb Willey. 
 

​In addition to being the impetus behind the original gallery, Regan has been the lynchpin of art activities and an inspiration to Hancock artists for over twenty years, with an enviable record of artistic achievements.
 
Regan Carney can often be found working in her studio at the Bay Arts Co-op (415 Necaise Ave., Bay St. Louis).  When asked about the origin of her art, she said that it went back over 9,000 years. 
 
"In ancient cultures, hollowed-out stones or baskets were used to collect water or grains because that's all they had,” said Carney.  “But mice can get to grain stored in baskets. Pottery was probably discovered when a basket got clay on it. At some point the same basket went to a fire and the basket burned and the clay stayed stiff. It could hold water; it would keep out mice. In short, clay pottery became the Neolithic plastic bag."
 
Regan explained that whether the pottery contained bits of added straw, or stone, whether it was coated with a colored slip, or paddled, or carved or smoked to partially seal the surface is how archeologists were able to identify various cultures. 
 
"Glazes came from the desert sands of the Middle East. Somebody built a campfire on top of an outcropping of salt. The next morning there was a blazing blue color in the ashes.  It looked like the sky. God had spoken. They started using low-melting sand. These were the first glazed materials."
 
Carney is a second-generation artist.  Her father, Hal Carney, was a revered portrait artist in New Orleans and taught painting at Tulane and Newcomb.  Carney herself holds an art degree from Tulane/Newcomb. She has no problems with the blurring of lines between traditional fine art and fine crafts. Even the simple forms she has created qualify as sculpture.
 
"Hold this cup," she urged. "How does it feel in your hand? How does it fit? Imagine it filled with hot coffee in the morning?  Wrapping your other hand around the cup, it grips easily, you won't likely drop it. It warms you; comforts you. It is made by hand for your hands. See how the handle makes a nice S-curve with an indenture at the top that just fits your thumb so nicely?"
 

The current exhibit of her work at the Waveland gallery is organized by color and design more than specific function. Pieces in one case share an Eastern influence. Another case is filled with black and white clay pieces, made with the neriage technique.
 
Neriage (pronounced nare-ee-ahhhj) has no applied pigment . The black comes from black clay and the white from white clay. The trick is to get them layered without falling apart.  Neriage developed in Japan around 1900, but Regan has put her own modern stamp on these pieces.  She confessed she has to "slam the clay down violently" so that the colors "marry," but don't blend.
 
"It's all about relationships," she offered with a chuckle. 
 
In yet another case of work, some of the glazes are derived from lapis lazuli - stones Regan often uses in her jewelry design (though not in this show). Regan once lent her jewelry talents to Mignon Faget's studio in New Orleans before settling here on the coast.

​Soon after moving here in the mid-90s, she launched what is now the oldest cooperative studio for artists:  the Bay Arts Co-op just celebrated its 21st anniversary. Regan was also one of the early founders of The Arts, Hancock County organization,

​Award-winning watercolorist, Herb Willey, has been quietly observing and painting people along the Mississippi coast for well over a year. His collected beachfront paintings show along Regan Carney’s works in the current show. Herb is a member of the International Watercolor Society and his work has been shown in far-flung places like Taiwan and Hong Kong.
 
Herb is approaching the second year of paintings along Beach Blvd. He is not sure when or if he will run out of subject matter because "it's so varied.  You couldn't go anywhere in the United States that is this close to a major city, like New Orleans, or Biloxi and find a beach that is so deserted you can still see eagles!"
 
Herb works from photographs he snaps along the way. "You'll see a painting called 'Multitasking.'"  It's a jogger with a baby strapped to his back and he's walking a dog. The guy and the baby are both looking at me. Most of the time they (his subjects) got their attention on their own thing: seagulls, pelicans, Bud Light." 
 
 "I want the painting to make people think about what the guy is doing. I like to find humor," he admitted. "Also scenes that make you wonder about exactly what is going on." 

​Herb likes to write stories about his paintings on the labels too.  He tells about a watercolor of a "guy that's carrying one dog and walking another dog. Why is this guy carrying this dog?”
 
Herb has completed nearly 400 works in the last three years. Yet, Herb confesses that after 25 years of painting, he has only begun to feel comfortable with the path his work has taken now he is able to paint full-time.
 
Herb majored in Fine Art in college, then quickly went to work as staff artist for the Daily Iberian newspaper.  He also studied watercolor with noted artist Harrel Gray for ten years. He showed his paintings at the Old Quarter Gallery near Jackson Square in the French Quarter, having his first show with Gray in the early 1990s.
 
Yet for most of his career, he worked full-time in advertising, completing one of his own paintings only when time permitted.  The pace was slow – one per week and sometimes, one per month. Mostly, he painted French Quarter scenes, "stuff that didn't move, with tourist appeal." 
 
Last year, Herb was only Mississippi watercolorist to show work in the Louisiana International Watercolor Exhibit held at Place St. Charles, New Orleans.
 
"If you let failure in selling dictate your future in art you are not getting what it's about,” Herb said.  “You need to keep exposing your art to people and getting your art out there." 
 
The Waveland City Hall Gallery is open to artists throughout Hancock County. Curated exhibits can be scheduled by contacting Cynthia Mahner at Coast Time Realty (228) 493-2852 or by email: [email protected]. 

The holiday Second Saturday Artwalk is the most magical of the year, with gallery openings and live music from 4–8 p.m.  Celebrate Hot Spots Serious Bread (131 Main Street) and Full Moon Clockworks (131 Railroad Avenue).
- stories by Grace Birch, photographs by Ellis Anderson

​Al “the Breadman” Jensen of Serious Bread in Bay St. Louis always had a palate for great bread. An East Coast boy who had traveled the world as an oceanographer, Jensen made sure to bring an empty suitcase when visiting family in California. 
 
He filled the empty suitcase with San Francisco sourdough bread. When the bread ran out, his sister-in-law Susan would send more sourdoughs. 
 
“One day my San Diego sister was tired of sending the San Francisco sourdough, so she sent a recipe and a note that said, ‘You need to start making your own bread,’” smiled Vivian Jensen, Al’s wife. 
 
So began a journey to learn about the lost art of bread making. Al enrolled in a class in King Arthur Flour, following it up with a more intensive training on sourdoughs. Workshops in Colorado and New York honed their skills for making bread starters and perfecting bagels. 
 
“I kept saying we need to name the bread,” Vivian said. “And it was easy because we used to put a morsel in people’s mouth and say, ‘You have to try this, it’s serious bread.’”
 
The first thing one notices about Serious Bread’s artisanal loaves is that the tastes and textures are different from store bought brands. 
 
“The health aspect is important to us,” Vivian said. “Most breads you find today are laden with sugar and lots of yeast to make it rise faster. The amount of sugar and salt in our bread is very low and it keeps for four to five days with no preservatives, especially the rye.”
 
Serious Bread's goods are made from scratch with lots of hand-kneading. Italian and French techniques — biga and poolish — start the bread. The Jensens also soak their grains so that the vitamins and minerals stay locked in. This takes 8-12 hours.
 
“There are no shortcuts to good bread,” Vivian said. “I recently read a study that soaking the grain is comparative to sprouting the grain — that increased iron absorption goes up over 1000 percent. You would have to eat more than 12 slices of regular bread to compare to the nutrients in one slice of our bread.”
 
No need to worry over smooshed bread when carting home a loaf. Serious Bread pops right back up when pressed down, another sign of the quality.
 
“Because of the time that we take with our bread it tastes better, lasts longer, much healthier,” Al said. “We are always experimenting with our bread. In fact, we had a class recently on how to make a sweet rye. It’s such a good tasting bread that my wife and I argued who was going to eat the last piece.”
 
Costumers will always find new breads on display at Serious Bread. Harvest Sourdough is another recent addition featuring cranberries, raisins and walnuts.
 
“A lot of breads taste great with butter and jam, but the Harvest tastes better with a sharp cheese,” Al said.
 
The Jensens find customers really appreciate information on how to care for their bread. Artisanal bread is a bit more than bread found at big chain stores, but if kept right will last much longer than anything produced commercially. 
 
“I tell them to slice it, freeze it in the bag, then pull out what you need in the morning,” said Vivian. “There’s something about the frozen slice going into the toaster that awakens the taste, and that’s what we want for our customers.”
 
Serious Bread also has serious sweet treats. Cookies, muffins, scones and more are some of the items people rave about.
 
Bakers Rosie and Kandace keep coming up with new things, like their new energy bars with 10 different grains, seeds, coconuts and dates.
 
On Second Saturday, December 10, Rosie and Kandace will show off a different skill: both are talented musicians. Rosie will play the flute and Kandace the clarinet after a set from Kay Sones’ family band, which will feature Christmas songs and old-time favorites starting in front of the bakery at 4 p.m.
 
After 10 years of finding their new passion, the Jensens are thriving and say they owe so much of Serious Bread's success to their talented, dedicated staff. They love serving customers who are serious about good bread! 

​Just steps from the railroad, a historic home keeps the rhythm of Bay St. Louis even when the tracks are silent.
 
Walking through the front door of Full Moon Clockworks, it’s clear Terry Downs has a passion for timepieces. Clocks of every shape, size and age adorn the walls and cover her workbench. 
 
“My love of clocks started when I was looking for a job,” Downs said. “It’s just as simple as that. I was 30 years old and a homemaker looking for a career. It was a turning point in my life.”
 
She stepped into Stan Good Clocks in Tampa Florida looking for work. Downs had a bit of experience refinishing furniture, but Good already had someone doing casing work.
 
He offered her an apprenticeship and from there a new career — master clockmaker — was born.
 
“I apprenticed for two years in the shop every day, and they could see my curiosity,” Downs said. “One of the clockmakers was retiring and Stan offered me a position.”
 
Downs was the only woman clockmaker in the shop and to this day she finds very few female colleagues in her field.
 
In the early 2000s, Downs relocated to New Orleans where her husband, Neil Gauthier, was. She knew she wanted to open a shop of her own, but didn’t feel like the big city was the right fit.
 
“We knew Ellis Anderson and she encouraged us to come visit the Bay more and more,” Downs said. “We saw the evolution of the Second Saturdays and really felt at home here.”
 
In a town full of antiques, Downs has no shortage of work. She makes house calls to work on grandfather clocks and takes appointments at her studio for clients to bring in their broken tickers.
 
Her favorite clocks? Down favors French timepieces. “I like the way the French build their clocks,” she said. “They are really quality pieces.” 
 
A unique clock, an oeil-de-boeuf, overlooks Downs’s workbench and literally doubles as an art piece. The French clock features a beautiful painting that would look at home in a major museum. 
 
Downs prefers to work on antique clocks, but sees all types of clocks in her line of work. She also only works on clocks, not wristwatches.
 
“Watches are different,” she explains. “The tools are different. With watches you buy a part to replace, and with clocks you are making the replacement parts.”
 
Modern technologies and mindsets seem to be taking the place of wristwatches and wall clocks. Downs has met millennial children who don’t know how to tell time with a clock face. 
 
“American clockmakers are dying off in droves,” she said. “I’m a young clockmaker and I’m 65.” 
 
Downs agrees there will always be a place for nostalgic things, but the industry is not sustainable.
 
“A young person could not support a family being a clockmaker, and I think that young people’s minds gravitate to something more technical,” she said.
 
In Bay St. Louis, Downs has certainly found a community that appreciates history and though Full Moon Clockworks she keeps the heartbeat of that history ticking along.

Fall weather makes it the perfect time to enjoy Second Saturday Artwalk's gallery openings and live music from 4–8 p.m.  Celebrate Hot Spots Bay Town Inn (208 North Beach Blvd.) and Manieri Real Estate (501 Main Street  #3).
- stories by Grace Birch, photographs by Ellis Anderson

In a tourist town, there’s a sweet spot in striking a balance between living locally and embracing the out-of-towners.  In Bay St. Louis, Main Street feels like Mayberry and soon visitors and shop owners are on a first name basis. 

Perhaps that’s what sets Bay St. Louis apart from most vacation-friendly spots along the Gulf Coast: vacationers feel like they’ve found a home away from home. 

On North Beach Road, the Bay Town Inn is a favorite of many frequent visitors. The hospitality of Nikki Moon, owner and hostess extraordinaire, is a hallmark of what makes Bay St. Louis so unique. 

Three years after re-opening the Bay Town Inn, Moon and her staff have turned hundreds of tourists into semi-locals and ambassadors of the Bay. 

Amy Davis, a District Manager at Factory Connection, found out in 2015 that her company was opening a branch in Waveband, Miss. Davis travels a lot for work and is used to staying in chain hotels, but decided to take a chance and book and room at a more quaint bed & breakfast.

“I asked everyone that I came across, ‘Where would be the best place for me to stay?’  Everyone said, ‘Bay Town Inn,’” Davis explained. “I was a little skeptical at first, because I usually travel alone and big hotels offer safety and amenities, but as soon as I talked to Nikki on the phone I knew I made the right choice.” ​

Upon arrival Davis said when she met Nikki for the first time she instantly felt like they had know each other forever. “The Inn is so comfortable, inviting, and very peaceful. I tell everyone that it is my ‘home away from home,’ and that is exactly what it feels like.” 

Since her first visit just over a year ago, Davis has stayed over 10 times and is always excited when she stays in a new room. “The turtle-themed room, and the seahorse are two of my favorites," Davis said, “You can tell that time was spent decorating each room.”

Liz and Bill Chilton from Yukon, Oklahoma, echo those sentiments. The couple has been visiting the Bay since 1993 and have enjoyed the Inn since Ann Tidwell owned the Inn. When Moon purchased the original Bay Town Inn in 2004, she and the Chiltons formed a wonderful new friendship.

“Nikki’s charm and hospitality makes everyone feel like family,” Liz said. “Her attention to detail is exceptional in all the rooms, from the local art on the walls to the robes in the closets. These things - along with her wonderful ‘welcome’ cookies to her fabulous breakfast -  make our stays perfect every time.” 

The couple has traveled all along the Gulf Coast from Padre Island, Texas to Panama City, Florida, but say in addition to all the special events like Crab-fest, Souper Mud Fest and Cruisin’ on the Coast, the quaintness of Bay St. Louis and comforts of the Bay Town Inn keep them coming back. 

Davis couldn’t agree more. “From the minute that I first arrived in Bay St. Louis, I have felt welcomed by everyone,” said Davis.
​
“Bay St. Louis to me, is a family all living in one community. People all take the time to stop and say hello. You never meet a stranger here.”

The Manieris have been in business in Bay St. Louis, in one form or another, since the 1870s. Manieri’s Restaurant was one of the oldest businesses in Bay St. Louis.  

"Anyone who grew up in this area new and frequented Manieri’s Restaurant," said Leslie Pupura. "We all have fond memories of the “Aunts” Dutch & Vee with their crazy antics when serving the public - they were quite entertaining.  It has been an honor to carry on a family tradition serving the public."

Fast forward 100 years and meet Joey, Sessie, Vicki, Leslie and Rosario; a personable team of professionals at Manieri Real Estate, LLC. Their team has been meeting Bay St. Louis residents'  real estate needs for over 25 years.

As a native of this area, Joey Manieri truly enjoys meeting newcomers and sharing his love of this special place with them, which is why real estate is a perfect fit for the family. 

"Our roots are in the restaurant business, but at our core, we are hospitality through and through," said Manieri. 

From sales to vacation rentals and property management, Manieri Real Estate, LLC is a one-stop-shop for real estate needs in Bay St. Louis. 

"Our Main Street location is like Open House every day," Manieri said. "We never know who’s going to pop in just to say hello.  People enjoy the atmosphere we’ve created here as we strive to keep it light and easy." 

Many vacationers end up calling Bay St. Louis home, and the Manieris say the real estate market, especially in Old Town, has been heating up in the past couple of years. 

"In downtown Bay St. Louis, the real estate is so hot right now. We are seeing an uptick in the surrounding areas, but Old Town [the historic district]  is an 'it' area," explained Manieri.

The surrounding areas, like Waveland, are also seeing an uptick in real estate prices. Leslie has fond memories of that area from 20 years ago. 

"We moved here in 1996 from New Orleans and were down on the beach every day, like someone was going to steal the sand," Leslie said with a laugh. 

"We lost everything in Katrina, but it was a no-brainer to come back," she said. "We have no regrets and feel fortunate to live in a place where every day is just another day in paradise." 

Leslie compares managing over a dozen vacation rentals to owning a hotel with rooms spread across the Bay. 

The Manieri family has such a passion for the Bay that it makes the job of selling real estate really easy.

"We want people to shop local, live local," said Manieri. "We have local directories in each rental - where to and how to do things - so people can really get a taste of Bay St. Louis"
​

The effervescent spirit of a ground-breaking coast artist lives on in the Pass Christian gallery that bears her name. 
- story by Ellis Anderson, photos by Ellis Anderson and courtesy GKAC

The center contains three sections – a large, open gallery space with a vaulted ceiling, a music classroom and a studio classroom.  The classrooms host students during the school day and also serve the community with programs like Lagniappe, an after-school enrichment program offering opportunities for private, public and home-schooled students.  The classrooms are also used for adult art classes during the year and kids’ camps in the summer. ​
Meanwhile, the gallery has established itself as one of the premier venues for art in South Mississippi.  Several shows a year are hosted there, as well as other special events – like the Invitational Art Market coming up on November 11th, when some of the coast’s finest artists and craftspeople will be selling their work from noon until 8pm (Editor’s note:  From 5 – 8 p.m. on the 11th, shoppers can also enjoy wine and cheese while they’re picking out holiday gifts - $5 donation at door for the reception).

For instance, noted Ocean Springs artist Joey Rice was featured in a GKAC show earlier this year.  Wynn said Rice brought in her equipment and held a class on paper-making for the entire school.  “Everyone, from kindergarteners to sixth-graders, was fascinated.”
 
Wynn believes Gail – who was a dear friend – would be “enormously pleased.”  “I think she would find real satisfaction from the way the gallery is functioning in the community.  I also think she’d be very humble about it.” ​​

The seed of the art center originally took root after Gail’s untimely death from cancer in 2005.  Her two sons wanted to donate their mother’s pottery equipment to Coast Episcopal School.  Wynn realized there was no place on campus that would accommodate the generous donation.  She approached Gail’s husband, Burt Keenan, with the idea of building an art facility for the school, in honor of the memory of Gail.  He immediately and enthusiastically agreed. 
 
A few months later, the entire coast community was severely impacted by Hurricane Katrina.  The dream for an arts center was mothballed while the school’s board, staff and parents focused on meeting the basic needs of the students.  Years later, by the time plans for the arts center began moving forward, building costs had risen substantially.  While Keenan’s original donation still made up the lion’s share of funding for the arts center, more than fifty other donors also contributed to fill the gap of final construction costs. 
 
Reverend Liz Goodyear Jones took over as Head of School when the project was getting off the ground and said she had the “distinct pleasure” of helping bring the center to fruition in 2011. 
 
“Gail's vision, upheld by the incomparable Wynn Seemann, taught me a whole new way of thinking about collaborative communities,” Jones says.
 
As an example, Jones refers to GKAC’s February 2016 show of work of the Selma March by civil rights photographer Matt Herron.
 
“I watched nearly 200 high schoolers from three different schools in Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian and Gulfport be spellbound in the presence of Matt and his historic photographs.”

In the five years it’s been open, the gallery has gained a reputation among veteran local artists as one of the best places to show on the coast. The large open galley affords plenty of space to view work and the lighting is superlative.  But artists give much credit for the gallery’s success to the organizational efforts of Wynn, curator Anna Harris, and David Harrison, director of the school’s art program.  Wynn, however, believes the most important cog in the wheel is the center’s volunteers.
 
 “They’re terrific, helping with everything from set-up to food and flowers,” says Wynn.  “They give and they give and they give.  Some of them are Gail’s old friends.”
 
Of which Gail had many.  The artist grew up in New Orleans, but spent much of her early adult life in California, pursuing artistic endeavors and raising two sons by her first marriage to filmmaker Les Blank.  

After her sons left for college, she reconnected with a beau who’d courted her as a teenager.  She and Burt Keenan married in 1988.  After moving back to the Gulf South, Gail built a reputation as a respected artist in New Orleans - where she showed in galleries like the Academy of Fine Art - and on the Mississippi coast. A winner of many awards, she was twice been the recipient of the prestigious Peter Anderson Potter’s Award.
 
The artist is best known for her Raku pottery, which she painted with bold freehand designs, often depicting animal and human figures. In the latter part of her life, she took up print-making, which manifested the same unconstrained, playful style that made her work  - whether on paper or on pottery - instantly recognizable and highly collected.   
 

After Gail passed away, mourners packed the vast chapel at Forest Lawn Cemetery in New Orleans to say farewell.  Son and filmmaker Harrod Blank, who wrote his mother’s bio for the GKAC website, was able to verbalize the qualities that made her so beloved by so many:
 
For those of you that didn't get to meet her, it was her unpretentious, humble, yet curious essence that made you feel comfortable when she was present with you, that you were paid attention to, and even cared for, and maybe loved.  Because if there was any awkwardness in you, she would break it down, make fun of it by being silly and move on.  If you were alone in the corner at a party feeling socially outcast, she would be the one that may come up to you and talk about the moon. She would make a person feel better by lifting them up, encouraging them, finding out about their life, but again mostly by being in the moment, present, and really caring. She was rarely out for her own agenda, and in fact, she was inept at social networking or promoting her art and career. She was simply real, unique, positive and fun to be around.  
 
Wynn believes that Gail would have “absolutely loved the way the arts center has unfolded” and the way it embraces and brings together different communities from across the coast.  
 
 “She could be incredibly serious about her art, very attentive to detail,” says Wynn.  “Yet she had this other side that was joyous, almost childlike.  She could relate to anyone and everyone.”
 
 “I miss her every day.”

In a dramatic leap of faith, local performance potter Steve Barney purchases a derelict property with plans to transform it into an artistic hub that will attract people from across the South and fuel the local Creative Economy. 
- story and photos by Karen Fineran, additional photos, Ellis Anderson 

Watch the Mississippi Roads episode that features Steve Barney!
his segment's right at the beginning

He intends for it to be a mixed-use development, which will offer a metal fabrication facility, ceramic studios, makerspace, a front gallery for the artists to exhibit and sell their work, apartments, and office space.  

Barney's long term plan is that BSLCCA will offer beginner and advanced classes in metalworking, pottery, stained glass and other mediums, and that a full schedule of workshops will be offered to the public by artists from across the Gulf Coast and New Orleans. 
​
Barney has gained national recognition for his efforts in the burgeoning movement to integrate Art into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) with respect to children's educational programs.  As the Shoofly highlighted in an earlier edition, Barney is the founder of the STEAMpunk Pottery Project, has created the self-acclaimed “greatest pottery machine in the world,” and performs regularly at festivals and museums across the Gulf Coast.  
​

Barney stated, “This complex represents the manifestation of a dream to create a community makerspace for building things, and to share my passion for STEAM." 

In keeping with the STEAM theme, a wide variety of programs are planned to expose kids to new forms of art, including after-school programs, weekend workshops and summer art camp offerings.

BSLCCA will feature the Bay's most extensive metal-working studio, and will offer facilities, equipment and classes for metal cutting, fabrication, welding (including MIG, TIG and stick welding), forging, sandblasting and painting.   

"We will teach classes in metalworking and operate a coop workshop for artists to work on their own projects.”  Barney adds, “During the day we will operate a commercial welding shop to meet the local demand for fabrication and repairs.”

Ceramic arts will also be a major focus for BSLCCA.  The clay studio will include eight pottery wheels, a glaze mixing lab, and other equipment for hand-building.  The kiln room will have three state of the art computer controlled electric kilns, with future plans to include gas and raku kilns as well.

Barney explains, “The City of Bay St. Louis and neighbors in the area have been incredibly supportive of this project. This is a major effort in the revitalization of Washington Street."  

In fact, the Arts of Hancock County, a leading arts advocacy organization with over 200 members, plans to have its offices at the BSLCCA.  

Barney expects to open the center by early 2017.  If you would like more information about BSLCCA, please contact Executive Director Steve Barney at 617-834-0715 or email [email protected].

Barney expects to open the center by early 2017.  If you would like more information about BSLCCA, please contact Executive Director, Steve Barney at 617-834-0715 or email at [email protected].

After a seemingly endless summer, the first cool evening of the fall has coast residents turning off the A/C and reveling in fresh air. 
- story and photo by Ellis Anderson

After a twenty-year hiatus, Bay St. Louis will once again by hosting a dedicated arts and crafts show.  This first-time fundraiser for the Nereids Mardi Gras Krewe is expected to attract dozens of artists and thousands of shoppers on Sept. 17 - 18.
- story by Ellis Anderson 

The show will take place on September 17th and 18th on the grounds of the Bay St. Louis Depot.  Saturday hours are 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday, the show will be open from 11a.m.–4 p.m.  Organizers have mapped out space for 100 vendors and at press time, more than half have been spoken for. ​

Beth Gruzinskas, a longtime Nereids member and in charge of publicity for the arts and crafts show, says that the depot grounds location is perfect in more ways than one. 
 
It offers paths and shade that vendors and patrons both love and lots of parking nearby (St. Stanislaus is offering their field across the street for the event).  The historic depot is also just a few blocks from the retail action and restaurants in Old Town’s commercial district. 
 
“We’re calling it a destination weekend,” says Beth.  “While people are at the show, they can shop around the rest of Old Town, restaurants and all the businesses.  The hotels, the bed and breakfasts and the vacation rentals will also benefit.  We’re working to promote the whole area, not just our show.”
 
The depot location also gives plenty of room for potential expansion in the future. And there’s good reason to think that they’d need it.  Bay St. Louis already has a regional reputation as an artists’ colony.  While it hosts the popular Arts Alive event each spring, with demonstrating artists and art competitions set up throughout the commercial district, there hasn’t been a dedicated art show in the Bay for at least twenty years. 

​The idea for a show in Bay St. Louis came about last fall, when members heard that the long-standing Diamondhead Arts and Crafts show was being disbanded.  They decided to fill the vacuum by hosting the Mermaids show in Bay St. Louis on the same weekend.  While the Diamondhead show was later revived by another group and will also take place that weekend, organizers believe that the two can complement each other, instead of competing. 
 
Mary Ann Pucheu, who’s in charge of the vendors, says the goal is quality.  Participating artists must make at least 50 percent of the product they’ll be selling.  For instance, a vendor would be able to sell a picture frame, but only if they’ve decorated it themselves. 
 
She says that the applications are coming in daily and will be considered until the show has filled all the available slots.  So far, the show has accepted artists who’ll be showing handmade jewelry, pottery, glass and fine art.  Vendors can get an application HERE.  
  
Photos of vendors’ work are being posted almost daily on the Mermaid Arts and Crafts Facebook page.

 Over the weekend, Nereids will have a booth selling hot dogs and hamburgers, while Phil Williams, the Bay St. Louis bbq legend, will also be offering his smoked specialties.  But the focus will be on art.  Shoppers will be encouraged to check out local restaurants in the Depot District and in the Old Town commercial district a few blocks away.  Don’t feel like walking far?  The Bay St. Louis trolley will be running throughout the weekend, stopping at the depot grounds each hour. 
 
Although the Visitors’ Center, the Alice Moseley Museum and the Mardi Gras Museum in the historic depot will be closed during the event, shoppers will hopefully want to return later.  Those who do will find that the Mardi Gras Museum stars a collection of retired Nereids’ costumes. 
 
“All the fantastic costumes on display were designed and made for Nereids,” says Beth.  “They’re all amazing — each one is a work of art.”

This Old Town anchor is set up as an artists' co-operative - which proves to positively impact attitudes and creativity as well as its business plan.  Find out how.
- story and photos by Ellis Anderson

Owners Jenise McCardell and Mark Currier’s house is directly behind the stand-out art deco building that houses Gallery 220.  Since the studio for their own ceramics business, Clay Creations, is also located on the premises, they have the ultimate in a work/live situation, with a gallery that hums with energy, seven days a week.

The pair were one of the first businesses to open their doors in 2005 after the unprecedented devastation of Hurricane Katrina.  The building sustained less damage than most in the town, so the couple hurriedly mucked it out and threw open the doors for the September Second Saturday – less than three weeks after the monster storm.
 
The spirits of dazed residents, astonished volunteers and shell-shocked artists were revived by the event, so for many months, every Saturday was Second Saturday.  The community had one place to find respite and encouragement.  Any artist who had wares to sell were welcomed.  Gallery 220 was born.

Since each of the member artists works in Gallery 220, shoppers are always assured of having an artist help them make a selection.  This means that each member learns about the other’s techniques and styles.  The painters sometimes bring works-in-progress with them, so often there’s an in-house demonstration.
 
Potter and sculptor Regan Carney is one of the original members of Gallery 220.  She maintains her own working clay studio (Bay Artists Coop) in the Depot District, nd calls the gallery “my showroom.”
 
And quite the showroom it is.  One of the only art deco style buildings in Bay St. Louis, it has high ceilings, lots of natural light and hand-painted floors.  As a co-op, the business philosophy adds another layer of interest.
 
“This place operates differently than a conventional gallery,” says Carney.  “We respect each other’s space and each other’s art work.  We learn to work as a group.  Since we don’t have a central person to handle display, it’s in all our best interests to keep the gallery looking fresh and engaging.”
 
“It’s not a pretentious place at all.  Everybody has the opportunity to arrange their work and present it in a very personable way, rather than deal with something that’s highly structured.”
 
Several artists have been part of the nucleus for years:  Janet Densmore, Spencer Gray, Jr., Michelle Allee, Regan’s husband, Mark Buszkiewicz and jewelers Sid and Pam Yoder.  Some of the established members  also teach, so they share information about workshops. Barbara Brodtmann, Janet Densmore, Jo Slay and Carney all give classes, some at the gallery itself. 

These veteran artists are able to offer counsel to younger artists who are just beginning to market their work.
 
“It provides an opportunity for entry level artists to learn some of the basics of presenting and selling their work,” Carney says.  “They learn the fundamentals of professionalism.” 
 
And the newest member of the Gallery 220 is taking advantage of that fact.  Holly Boynes is a ceramics artist living in Chalmette.  Drawn to art her entire life, she graduated Nichols State University in 2013 with a degree in fine arts. Currently, she’s focusing on hand-built teapots and wall-hangings based on flowers like tiger lilies, cherry blossoms and sunflowers. 
 
While Boyne has a solid education in technique, she’s finding the camaraderie and support from other gallery artists beneficial. 
 
“Although I do crafts shows, I’ve never worked in a gallery before,” says Boyne.  “This is brand new to me.  But everyone’s friendly and they help each other.  I’m getting to know people’s art and their stories, while learning the ins and outs of the business of art. “
 

The support system between the artists moves far beyond the professional sphere.  Carney says that when she suffered a life-threatening and debilitating aneurysm a few years ago, the co-op members came to her aid. 
 
“They were extraordinarily instrumental in helping me out,” Carney says. “They helped me sell my work, take care of business and set up a fund to help cover medical costs.”
 
Carney says the group hosts at least one charity fund-raiser event a year.  Recently, coop members held a benefit to help a fellow artist who’s currently going through chemo-therapy. 
 
“We celebrate each others' successes.  When we hit low spots, we try to pull each other up.  Everyone benefits. 

"Even our customers,” she adds, smiling.  

The Artists of Gallery 220

• Michelle Allee                              Painter   
• Tracy Bennett                               Potter
• Scott Blackwell                             Artist/Screenprinter    
• Holly Boynes                                Ceramics         
• Barbara Brodtmann                    Watercolor
• Mark Buszkiewicz                        Potter  
• Regan Carney                                Potter  
• P. Chris Christofferson               Photographer
  
• Mark Currier                                Photographer
  
• Janet Densmore                           Artist
• Sandra Epton                               Landscape paintings
  
• Spencer Gray, Jr.                         Artist
• Dave Holt                                      NOLA Beauxties
  
• Amy Kramer                                 Painter
  
• Judy Lee                                        Potter  
  
• Nancy Lowentritt                         Painter
  
• Pam Marshall                                Painter
• Jenise McCardell                         Clay Creations 
  
• Julie Nelson                                  Raku Potter
• Vicki Rosendahl                          Animal Sculpture
• Jo Slay                                            Mosaics
  
• Herb Willey                                   Painter
  
• Sid and Pam Yoder                     Jewelers