McArthur Chism’s Pop-Top Craft
David Smith

McArthur Chism’s Pop-Top Craft is an audio documentary grounded in oral history that
explores the life and art of McArthur Chism, a self-taught bottle cap artist from Water
Valley, Mississippi. Born in 1942, Chism began crafting bottle caps in 1958 after
recalling vases his maternal grandmother gave him during childhood. That memory
became the seed for a lifelong skill, turning discarded materials like bottle caps, wire
hangers, and scrap wire into handcrafted birdhouses, crosses, drink coasters, and even
picture frames.

Through Chism’s voice, listeners come to understand how material culture, memory,
and Southern Black folk art intersect in creative and deeply personal ways. His story is
also a window into rural ingenuity and the kind of labor that exists outside of
traditional wage structures but is no less valuable. This project is about more than art.
It’s about tracing connections, honoring everyday makers, and getting to know the
extended branches of family we often overlook.

How many people know their great-grandparent’s first cousin? Through repeated visits
and recorded conversations, I not only document Chism’s craft, but place him in the
spotlight he deserves. This project invites audiences to reflect on whose stories are
preserved and how creative labor in Black Southern communities often goes unseen.
The impact lies in recognizing beauty in the ordinary, value in the handmade, and
dignity in the lives of people like McArthur Chism whose hands tell stories that history
books rarely do.

David Ray Smith, originally from the Mississippi Delta, has a BA in public policy leadership from University of Mississippi. He is currently pursuing an MA in southern studies. He is a Graduate Research Assistant for the Coalition for the Study of Race and Racism and a Young Leaders Fellow in the Aspen Institute. His primary interests include improving the quality of public education, addressing food deserts and food insecurity, reducing health disparities and expanding access to adequate healthcare, fostering entrepreneurship, and enhancing the quality and impact of agribusiness in agrarian environments.