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In 1952, William Faulkner gave Lee and Pup McCarty permission to dig all the clay they wanted from a gulley on his property. That was the beginning of a 64-year love affair with clay, Mississippi clay. In 1954, the McCartys lived and worked in a mule barn in Merigold, Mississippi, creating together a pottery design that would become nationally and internationally known. The trademarked “river,” a small black wavy line would become synonymous with the signature glazes of nutmeg brown, cobalt blue, and jade.

However, the love and life of that Mississippi clay was a labor-intensive jubilant existence. The McCartys were determined to do everything themselves. They dug clay from a ravine, then processed it for creating artwork, and converted a barn into a studio and living spaces. They nailed up painted cardboard to keep the wind and bugs out, built shelves from milled pine, and put down bricks for flooring. Lee once stated, “We never nailed up a board or drove a nail we didn’t own outright…We never put in equipment we didn’t first pay for.” They were frugal and believed in hard work.

Lee and Pup McCarty worked side by side until Pup’s death in 2009. Lee continued the work until his passing in 2015. The godsons of Lee and Pup, Jamie and Stephen Smith, continue their tradition of McCarty, still working in the barn behind the bamboo in Merigold, Mississippi.