Hattiesburg artist featured on popular HGTV show

No a person can error Vixon Sullivan‘s artwork for just about anything other than Southern.

The Monticello native who now life in Hattiesburg generates pottery with photographs of the South, from Mississippi magnolias to Tennessee irises to Virginia dogwood blossoms.

Bowls embedded with bolls or teapots with nesting bluebirds give a apparent perception of place.

Sullivan’s Southern-centric pottery is what led the stars of HGTV’s “Dwelling City” to function the 32-12 months-old on a the latest episode.

Erin and Ben Napier of Laurel rose to fame by their eager feeling of resourceful placemaking and storytelling that grew out of a love for their hometown.

Here’s how it transpired: HGTV ‘Home Town’ attributes special Hattiesburg home

In addition to internet hosting a Television set show, the Napiers are companions in Laurel Mercantile Co., a 21st-century variation of the retail store that sold “dry goods and work wares” from 1901 to the 1930s. Sullivan is a featured artist on the Laurel Mercantile website.

In the Season 6 episode “A House for Mom and Dad” that aired April 3, Sullivan talks with Erin Napier about the procedure. He produced a vase decorated with hydrangeas to show for the householders.

In the episode, a few wants to discover a house for the wife’s mom and dad and grandmother, who want to be closer to their daughter and grandchildren.

“What I like about this episode is that we concentrate on multi-generational living below 1 roof and giving them all what they wished in a property,” Erin Napier wrote in an Instagram put up.

Sullivan required to make a vase with magnolias for the reason that “I do individuals pretty well.”

“They persisted. They wished hydrangeas,” he explained. “I appreciated that a small little bit mainly because it kinda pushed me out of my shell. It was enjoyment to do one thing a tiny little bit various.”

Erin Napier also gave the delicate-spoken Sullivan tips to get as a result of the show’s taping.

“If you are supplying a good deal of vitality, if you are pondering you’re supplying a 10, it is really going to study as a three,” she informed him. “It genuinely aided me by means of the system.”

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Sullivan and Erin Napier converse about how the vase was manufactured all through the shoot and how both of them researched art in school.

“We bonded in excess of that,” he explained. “It was a great time.”

Sullivan enjoys collaborating with other artists considering the fact that he learns and grows from the knowledge. He’s worked with other Mississippi artists, such as his mentor and close friend Peter Woods of Peter’s Pottery in Mound Bayou, and sculptor Ben Watts of Columbia.

“When I get an prospect to collaborate, it’s often great,” he stated. “It’s kinda like the marrying of what I like to do and integrating it into someone else’s home.”

Vernon Dahmer: Sculpture of slain Mississippi civil rights chief mounted at courthouse

1 of Sullivan’s favored collaborations with Watts was a sculpture of slain civil legal rights leader Vernon Dahmer, which was set up in 2019 outdoors Forrest County Courthouse.

Sullivan got a great deal of reaction from the display after it aired, which is fantastic for company, but he needs to discover a very good balance amongst do the job and participate in so he can delight in the expertise.

He wants persons to see him as somebody who is encouraging, empowering and inspiring to other people but he also desires those features to be mirrored in his get the job done.

“One particular point I definitely recognize about currently being on ‘Home Town’ is it kind of aligns with my message as well — it is like appreciating exactly where you are from and the elegance in that,” Sullivan mentioned.

Do you have a story to share? Speak to Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Adhere to her on Twitter @licibev or Fb at facebook.com/licibeveridge.

This short article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Hattiesburg artist Vixon Sullivan showcased on HGTV’s ‘Home Town’ demonstrate