One summer day in 2016, lifelong artist Deborah Duncan began searching for a new creative pursuit to kick off her recent retirement from a long career as a teacher at Neshoba Central High School in Philadelphia, Miss., and at Armstrong Middle School in Starkville, Miss. Duncan, who had long enjoyed painting portraits of friends and family in her free time, took to YouTube in search of ideas for new painting techniques and came across a video detailing acrylic pouring techniques.
Acrylic pouring involves combining normal acrylic paints with a chemical pouring medium to liquify the paint, then pouring the resulting mixture onto a surface or object to create swirls of different colors that stick to whatever they were poured upon as it dries.
Dunkington offers a variety of home goods decorated through acrylic-pouring techniques such as wine glasses, jewelry, cutting boards and more. Acrylic pouring allows each product to have differences in their appearances, even among items that are coated in similar paint mixtures. Photo courtesy Dunkington
Duncan quickly took to the new technique and painted a number of canvases which she showed to her daughter, Brandi Herrington, and son-in-law, Josh Herrington. Intrigued with the abstract, vibrantly colored canvases Duncan showed them, the two decided to visit the Cotton District Art Festival in Starkville and other art shows later that year in hopes of researching the technique further. Duncan also sold pieces she created at the festival, an endeavor that proved successful for her. Demand quickly grew, and the three decided to officially open a home-operated business called Dunkington in fall of 2016, primarily selling their acrylic poured wares at other art festivals in the Starkville area.
From Festivals to Brick-and-Mortar Storefront
Before joining his wife and mother-in-law in operating Dunkington, Josh Herrington had spent 21 years working as a detailer for Starkville-based metal building manufacturer Gulf State Manufacturers, where he drew up plans for metal structures such as sheds and shopping centers.
Dunkington features a 1000-square-foot gallery space that people can rent for temporary exhibitions or for other events. Photo courtesy Dunkington
When the business closed down in 2020,