(Photo from the Pickenpaugh family)
- For the past 53 years, this unusual little family compound has been home to Madison’s preeminent potters, Robert and Merry Pickenpaugh.
The quaint, weathered, rambling house with the wide front porch and untamed vegetation peeking over the back fence is not exactly hidden from view as one drives past it on Madison’s Main Street. There is a small, unpretentious sign out front — compliant with Madison’s strict covenants, no doubt — quietly announcing “Pickenpaugh Pottery.”
Yard art, like long-stem ceramic flowers, earth-toned birdbaths and bird feeders, wind chimes, and birdhouses, welcomes curious visitors. “Happy” is always the mood of the day here.
For the past 53 years, this unusual little family compound has been home to Madison’s preeminent potters, Robert and Merry Pickenpaugh. Their unfettered focus has been creating one-of-a-kind art, and all the while, the special little town spread its wings around them.
Merry Pickenpaugh calls it their “hobbit house,” a reference to Tolkien’s classic stories. Its unorthodox floor plan has been the perfect backdrop for their imaginative spirits. Like the two of them, this church-turned-house-turned-art-studio is filled with their distinct heart and soul. From the tiles in the kitchen backsplash to the barnwood on the wall and the stained glass windows, the personality of its creative residents speaks inspiration.
The structure, originally built on the Natchez Trace before the Civil War, was a one-room church, moved from Ridgeland to its present location in the late 1800s by a woodworker who claimed it as his shop. When his nearby home burned, he added a living area to the business. As new babies were born, he added rooms wherever the property line would allow. The serendipitous result is an artist’s dream space, free and open, much like the Pickenpaugh family.
Robert Pickenpaugh discovered his passion for pottery by accident. He was studying photography at Delta State University when his faculty advisor encouraged him to take a pottery course as an elective. That course led to a Master of Fine Arts Degree from Ole Miss and the push to join other artisans, founding the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi in 1973.
That first pottery course was truly “love at first touch!” Everything about shaping clay came naturally to him. He developed a near obsession with the possibilities of clay beneath his fingers. That initial excitement has not dimmed over all these decades, as the now white-haired artist with the manbun and the tie-dyed tee-shirt spends every day in his studio, immersed in clay, painting, glazing, and firing something original. He is not bored yet. For Robert, pottery is a spiritual pursuit. He is connected heart and soul to every piece.
When Merry, an education major at USM, met Robert, she was immediately intrigued by his pottery, and she asked him to teach her. Like Robert, she was a natural, unintimidated by the skills required to work with a stubborn piece of clay until her fingers had fashioned what her mind’s eye had imagined.
When she and Robert first married, pottery was just a hobby for her. She taught in the Madison County Schools, first as the Director of their Special Needs Program and later as a fifth-grade teacher. Helping shape children was at least as much fun for her as shaping clay, a fact verified by the number of her past students who keep in touch with her years later.
When Merry retired, she came into the pottery business full-time. Her signature works are her unique Santa Clauses, which have tubular-shaped bodies, expressive faces, hand-rolled beards, and colorful, detailed attire. No two are alike.
She considers these Santas stories molded in clay. It is not unusual for her to take someone’s family treasure, like a piece of lace from a child’s Christening gown or a mother’s wedding veil, and incorporate it into a Santa, creating a family treasure that will be passed down through generations.
The old adage, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” proves true in the Pickenpaugh family. Merry and Robert’s daughters, MerryCline and Peyton, were born while their mother was teaching school. Robert assumed the role of “Mr. Mom,” tending to their infant’s needs in a corner of the studio from their earliest days, even as he continued to make pottery.
Years before they were old enough to attend school, the girls had their hands-on opportunities to create with clay. It is no surprise that both daughters are pottery artisans in their own right.
Peyton, a sculptor who taught art in San Francisco for 15 years, is now pursuing a master’s degree in ceramics at Tulane, where she received a full fellowship.
MerryCline has a pottery studio in Livingston, Montana, where she specializes in ceramic flowers native to Montana. She comes to Madison for several weeks twice a year to help her mom and dad with their major shows and is the artist in charge of the recent purple pansy featured as part of Madison Ridgeland Academy’s annual fundraiser, the Gardens of Madison County.
As pottery has become a much sought-after collector’s item in recent years, many studios have expanded and mass-produced their wares. Not to take anything away from those, but there is something more than endearing about this inimitable family business in Madison that has remained true to its sense of calling. They have intentionally chosen to craft their wares, one item at a time, by hand, as they always have, believing the love and hands-on engagement that goes into each work is so worth it. Their motives are as unique and memorable as their quaint and very anchored place at 2034 Main Street.
An impatient customer once suggested to MerryCline that Pickenpaugh Pottery needed to move into the twenty-first Century, hire contract workers, and move to assembly-line efficiency. MerryCline, speaking like a true disciple of Merry and Robert’s, answered, “Ma’m, we are a family, not a factory.” There is much to be said for being secure in who you are!
Follow Pickenpaugh Pottery on Facebook at Pickenpaugh Pottery and Gallery and on Instagram at Pickenpaughpottery.
Marilyn Tinnin
