ELLISVILLE –Jones College’s visual arts instructor, Melanie Eubanks was recently honored as Jones College’s 2021-2022 Mississippi Humanities Council Teacher of the Year. Each community college and university select a faculty representative that the MHC honors with a cash award and certificate.
“In 1972, the MHC Humanities Teacher of the Year program was founded to not only reward our teachers but to also show the importance of the humanities in creating engaged and informed citizens. This is also an investment by the MHC in scholarships at this level. Additionally, the honored teachers create a pool of scholars for our speaker’s bureau,” said Assistant Director of the Mississippi Humanities Council, Carol Andersen.
During Eubank’s presentation, “Getting to Creativity Through Ceramics,” she
shared the history of ceramics and pottery and the creative process. The long-time educator even demonstrated her pottery throwing skills for the audience who gathered to see her be honored for her work. Eubanks said she’s overwhelmed by the MHC award which names 30 Humanities instructors across the state that will be honored by the Mississippi Humanities Council during the MHC’s annual gala.
“It’s a little overwhelming but a great honor validating so many things that are
important to me, primarily, the role of the arts in examining what it means to be human,” said Eubanks. “I teach art appreciation and hopefully I can instill some appreciation of art for those students who have not been exposed to it before. It is enjoyable spending time with students and working with them and opening their minds.”
During the Pascagoula native and current Hattiesburg resident’s presentation, she explained ceramics may have been discovered accidentally in China in 20,000 BC and in Japan in 10,000 BC.
“Pottery may have been discovered accidentally but it’s continually being developed and changing. People were basket weaving for practical purposes long before pottery, however, chards of baskets with clay contents have been found. It is believed that accidentally or on purpose, these baskets lined with clay to help hold the contents of the basket were dropped in the fire and the clay remained and hardened,” said Eubanks.
As for Eubanks, her love of ceramics began in Mize with her Smith County cousins while playing with the clay from a creek bed.
“As a child, I was OCD about getting my hands dirty. However, I was at my cousin’s house in Smith County and the boys were five or six years older than me and playing in the creek bed. They were making animals out of clay. It was counterintuitive for me to get my hands dirty, but I was hooked! I didn’t even realize my hands were dirty because it was fun creating clay animals!” Eubanks shared. “However, I was a freshman in college before making anything again with clay as an art major.”
While primarily a ceramics artist, Eubanks paints and has tried many different materials and crafts. Amongst her new favorites are weaving and hot glass/lamp work. Over the years, she has worked on several, “Empty Bowls” projects in Laurel and Hattiesburg, she is a board member for the Hattiesburg Civic Light Orchestra, worked in community theater, and Eubanks is a member of the Women’s Art Collective and the Mississippi Art Colony. Eubanks currently serves as the president of the Mississippi Community College Art Instructor Association, which hosts a student competition each year.
In 1992, Eubanks earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in painting and drawing, and a minor in art history from the University of Southern Mississippi. She earned her master’s degree a year later and began teaching at JCJC in the fall of 1994.
Additionally, Eubanks has been honored with the Lamplighter Award in 2016 and is a ceramics adjunct instructor at William Carey University. For USM’s theater department, she assisted with the set painting for the 2017 play, The Phantom of the Opera. Melanie is married to Mark Rigsby and they have one child, Hank Rigsby who is a sophomore in high school.