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From creek clay to fine ceramics, a young artist finds his path.Just outside the studio at the MacGown Artist Residency in Sessums, a brand-new pottery wheel sits a few feet from a zero-turn mower.At the wheel is Sam Henderson, a 21-year-old artist from Carroll County and the latest artist in residence.Sam has spent his first week at MARS turning clay into crystalline pottery, painting and talking – passionately and endlessly – about art, Mississippi and the people who have helped him get here.“I’m playing chicken with the economy,” Sam said.“But I’m not scared enough to back off.That’s what kills a lot of people, is that fear of not being successful.What is the world without art, dude?” Sam didn’t grow up thinking he was going to be an artist.After a tough childhood in a home with drugs, drinking and poverty, the advice he was given was to “go to college, make some money, do better.” After high school, he enrolled at Northwest with the intention of going into engineering.But after falling just short of the math and science grades he needed, he experienced what he called a “breakdown.” “I didn’t know what I was going to do, but everybody was like, ‘Sam, we like your paintings.You should just paint, you’ve been doing that forever anyway,’” he said.“But at the time, I was like, ‘There’s not enough surefire income in it.’ But I thought, ‘Well, if everybody likes it now and I’m half-assing it equivocally, what would happen if I put my all into it?’ I had nothing – no good equipment, no real experience, nobody teaching me anything.” That was a year ago, and by then he had been painting in a barn in Vaiden for four years as an escape.“I wasn’t technically proficient.I couldn’t tell you what I was doing, or why I did it,” he said.“But I learned all my own theory out there in a barn in the middle of Mississippi, just trying different methods and working with it until I got it how I wanted.” Plus, he had been pulling clay from creeks, making bowls and getting in trouble for using the family toaster oven as a makeshift kiln for years.“I would bake them in the toaster oven at 500 degrees to try and get them firmer,” he said.“I would also put them into a pit in the ground with some charcoal and a leaf blower and actually get the pieces to ceramic.I used to wonder, ‘How do people do this effectively?’ And I realized, ‘Oh, it’s a big electric box.I’ll never have one of those.’” But after switching directions and deciding it was time to give himself over to his art, Sam got to work.He told himself that if he was going to make the switch, then he would go to art school and come out making money – something he had previously convinced himself wouldn’t be possible.“I told myself I had to be pre-emptive about it,” he said.“Like, somebody in Mississippi is doing this.Somebody is making art and making money.How do they do that?I made it my mission to find out.” To answer his questions, Sam began emailing, cold-calling and networking.He sent message after message to artists around the state telling them about his dream of being an artist, asking for advice and whether they would be willing to let him come shake their hands and see their studios.“I want to know everybody,” he said.“And I want everybody to know who I am.” That grassroots method is how he found his way into the home of Oxford artist Yerger André, a ceramicist and now Sam’s mentor.Eventually, he got a lead on an old, abandoned kiln sitting in someone’s garage.Then he heard about a paid apprenticeship from a fellow vendor at an art market – the MacGown Artist Residency.“He called me up and asked about the program.I asked him if he could come visit, and he came that same day,” said Joe MacGown, retreat owner, entomologist and artist.“That drive, that enthusiasm, that’s really important.We’re looking for people who can really benefit from this program.It’s a nice grant.And he has enough raw talent, emotion, interest and knowledge that his paintings are already telling entire stories.” With his stipend, and in the spirit of that pre-emptiveness, he invested in a high-quality wheel from Mar-Lyn Ceramic Supply in West Point.He’s already thrown several vases, many of them are sitting in different stages of drying.“I wake up feverish about creating,” he said.“I wake up in the middle of the night and I know what I gotta do.I’m rushing to go do it.” That drive and desire pushed Sam to enroll at the Mississippi University for Women, where he said the 24/7 studio access and instructors were the biggest draw.This fall, he’ll begin working toward a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, and he’ll continue to create and sell his art whenever and wherever he can.And while Sam is looking forward to honing his technical skills, his philosophy about art and his roots, even with the formality of a college BFA program, will remain the same: “The world is rough.I don’t care who you are.If you’re here for me, I’m here for you,” he said.“You are going to live in darkness if you think nobody’s going to lend you a hand.You gotta be gentle with each other so you can be dangerous together.” You can help your community Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community.The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts.In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com.Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.You can help your community Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community.The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts.In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com.Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.