GGS Enterprise-MISSIONS STATEMENT

Biographical Sketch

Gloria Gipson Suggs, a native and resident of Marshall County Mississippi, attended Henry Elementary School near Slayden, MS and graduated from St. Mary’s High School in Holly Springs, MS. She received a Bachelors of Science Degree in Biology from Rust College in Holly Springs. Gloria earned a Masters Degree in Curriculum Development and Instruction at Memphis State University, now University of Memphis, in Memphis, TN. Suggs taught school in Tennessee in the public and private sectors for over 28 years. She taught the first two years of her teaching career in Clarksdale City Schools, Clarksdale, MS. Suggs served as program director and coordinator for the alternative program for Marshall County and Holly Springs School Districts. Gloria is married to Franklin Suggs. They have two adult children, Linda and Michael and one grandson, Langston Alan Suggs. Gloria is a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Holly Springs.

Gloria’s career as an educator was brought to a sudden halt after several accidents. So, she turned to performing, writing and drawing. These were the things Gloria loved doing as a child. Collectively called The Reflection Series, the folk art drawings provide movement and imagery to poetry in Gloria’s book called, Reflections in Black and white with Shades of Red, Yellow, and Brown. These images relate to everyday landscapes and people of yester year. Old churches, home sites, and schools that Gloria remember from childhood, heard about or saw in photographs at reunions and gatherings, act as inspiration in her work. Crayon is the primary medium and primitive impressionism is the style used in her folk art drawings. Gloria likes to do things the old-fashioned way. Her African and Indian ancestors used pigments from plants and the earth as their media and cloth, wood, and brown paper as their canvases. Crayon produces the same natural and vibrant colors when mixed with other media on paper in her art. “Tin Top Houses” pictured on Gloria’s web site home page is a dynamic example of an outcome of this mix. Fox 13 of Memphis, TN filmed Gloria painting this picture at her studio in December of 2005 for the Good Morning Memphis Show. Suggs received an Artistic Merit Award in April of 2008 at the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, MS for a painting called “Road Side Baptism”. Eight of Gloria’s crayon paintings are on permanent display at the Ida B. Wells Museum in Holly Springs, MS.

Channel 9 of Tupelo, MS, Fox 13, WMC TV5, ABC 24 and 30 of Memphis, TN, WURC of Rust College and WKNA of Holly Springs, MS have spotlighted Suggs’ work. Gloria has exhibited in Ida B. Wells Museum, Marshall County Museum, and Annie’s Restaurant of Holly Springs, MS, Martin Luther King Civil Rights Museum, The Black Arts Gallery, D. Edge Art Gallery in Memphis, TN. Gloria has participated in the following arts and crafts festivals: DuSable Museum, Chicago, IL, The Gathering, Nashville, TN, Carthage, MS, Corinth, MS, Holly Springs, MS, Senatobia, MS, South Haven, MS, Ripley, MS, Germantown Festival, Germantown, TN, Atlanta, GA, Pink Palace Museum Craft show of Memphis, TN, and the Double Decker, Oxford, MS. The Commercial Appeal, The South Reporter, The Busy Bee, and Tupelo Sunday Journal have written about Suggs’ work. The B.J. Chain Public Library, Olive Branch, MS and La Fayette County & Oxford Public Library in Oxford, MS have exhibited Suggs’ work.

Suggs has received the following awards for her work in the areas of heritage and cultural pride and preservation: The Double Decker Artist Merit Award 2008, Oxford, MS; Outstanding Leadership Award 2008, Hudsonville C.M.E. Church, Marshall County, MS; Outstanding Contribution to The Community Award 1995, Memphis City Council, Memphis, TN; Certificate of Appreciation 1995, Shelby County, TN.

Gloria Gipson Suggs wrote her first book, Wind-blown Memories, in 1988. She produced her first single record called, “Steep Is The Stairway To Heaven” in 1983. Suggs produced an album on nine contemporary gospel songs called “Such A Beautiful Day” on cassette in 1990. Gloria was a movie extra in The Client in 1990.

“Expressions Of Heritage And Cultural Pride Through Poetry And Folk Art”

Gloria's work is registered under the name of GGS Enterprise. Call (662) 551-8648 or send email to ggsenterprise@Hughes.Net for orders, showings, readings, and recitals.