Memphis potter, Melissa Bridgeman, has been commissioned to make ten communion sets, including a plate and chalice, to use at this year’s conference. The plate and the cup will include a stamp of a descending dove over three undulating lines to remind of us our time spent together on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River.

Melissa is inspired by vintage treasures and the natural world. She is an avowed imperfectionist (which means that she’s a recovering perfectionist). You’ll see some slightly out of round shapes, slight variation in glaze thickness, the occasional smudge or fingerprint that tell you that her very human hands made the objects you’re using. She feels these imperfections give her work character and begin to tell a story of a full life—lived imperfectly with grace.

Melissa is an alumna of Salem College in Winston Salem, NC, where she spent time learning at Reynolda House Museum of Art and the Museum of Southern Decorative Arts, enriching her love of art, fine textiles and ceramics, and the folk traditions of North Carolina. She holds a Master’s in Southern Studies from the University of Mississippi, where she studied documentary fieldwork, art history, self-taught and folk art. Melissa has been a teaching artist with the Memphis Brooks Museum and the Center for Arts Education. She is a full-time potter, part time gardener and sketchbook keeper, as well as a wife and mother.

The ten communion ware sets are available for purchase for $125 now or at the conference on a first-come first-serve basis. The chalice it approximately 5.5” tall and the plate is approximately 8” across. Sets must be picked up on-site at the Peabody Hotel at the conclusion of the Annual Event on Saturday, February 1. Packaging nor shipping are available. Use the form below to reserve yours now. Payment by credit card at the time of purchase is required.