John Shirley of Meridian, Mississippi, is a game warden, but when he picks up a chain saw and rips into a piece of cedar wood he demonstrates his talents as a folk artist, creating spiritual sculptures of bears, eagles and Indians. I met Mr. Shirley at the Wildlife Folk Festival in Quitman, Mississippi October 2nd. He was carving away with a buzzing chain saw, turning an old log into a cute bear. Shirley said that he had no formal training in Art, and was inspired by wood carvers he had seen in the Smoky Mountain region around Gatlingburg, Tennessee. A self-taught wood carver, Shirley has been ripping up wood turning it into dolphins, wild turkeys, fish, bears, Indians and other animals for many years; however, he began to take his work more serious three years ago, attending art festivals where he demonstrates his craft and markets his spiritual sculptures. A charming little cedar bear cub which he had just carved caught my eye, and I carried it home where it now graces my bedroom to watch over me at night.
Carl Stephens, a member of Magnolia Woodturners, was also exhibiting his craft, turning out bowls, vases, goblets and other useful items upon a portable lathe. Stephens said he was 80 years old, but he sure didn't look it. Apparently he has found one of the keys to staying young at heart; involving one's self in a work of love and sharing his creations with others. I marveled at the pens he has made from exotic red, white, and purple woods.
I was also impressed by the collage work of Alexis Campbell. This budding artist creates composite mixed media work. She paints on bottles, walls, furniture and makes works of art using fabric. She enjoys painting fish, butterflies, flowers and other nature themes. She has even turned old, discarded works of art into new, novel designs, cutting up the old and putting together the pieces to make pleasantly striking works indicative of her ingenuity and originality.
Author and Christian Humorist Arlis Nichols of Enterprise, MS, was also present to sign autographs and market his local color book entitled My Brother Was An Only Child. This is the jocular tale about growing up in the rural South during the thirties and forties. Nichols introduced himself to me by saying that he was the person who discovered electricity. Having been around a few tall talers in my life, I knew exactly where he was coming from and asked if this occurred when he was struck by lightening? "No," he replied, and went on with a yarn that ended when he lighted up after sticking a fork into an electric outlet as a child. Some of that electricity still seems to beam from his eyes as he embraces everyone with fascinating folklore.
Whitney Johnson was on stage entertaining the crowd with her piercing voice. I could not believe it when Lee Moore, an Administrative Assistant at H. C. Watkins Memorial Hospital, told me this talented young woman was only 13 years old. Was this the next LeAnn Rimes? Certainly she has a siren's voice and I imagine if she keeps singing she will gather a following of country western an pop music fans.
By four o'clock the music had stopped and exhibitors were packing up their wares to return home. I went by John Shirley's exhibit and picked up my hefty cub bear. Such a cute fellow deserved a name so I thought to baptize him "Mr. Quitman." Now this may seem like an odd name for a bear, but as he was born out of an old cedar log right here in Quitman on Oct. 2, 2004, I figured this little log of wooden bear could be named nothing else.
Mr. Quitman, the cedar bear cub, thus shall be the new logo and mascot of The Quitman Villager, that his charming gaze shall grace these pages and one day he might be as well known as the wooden Indian, Koligia, which once stood outside the country store at Lake Martin, Alabama. That wood carving inspired Hank Williams to sing a melody which lives in the hearts and minds of many a soul, and will as long as country/western music is sung in the fields, meadows and honky- tonks of the deep south.