Description

Repetition on a Theme, and some wood fire stuff…

One of my favorite methods of working in any medium and especially ceramics is to work a form to death. What I mean by that is to explore as many possibilities of a specific form or concept in as many ways possible on a daily basis. This may include changing clay bodies, cutting it up and putting it back together, changing mediums, alternate firing methods, etc…

Talent is an overused word in any art conversation. I believe in practice, hard work, and a schedule. “Art is work” and “Work begets work”, Jeffrey Mitchell. In that vein, you must show up errday and put in the “work” to accomplish something worthy, treating art as a job does not diminish its’ significance or beauty.

Mighty Mud is exceedingly fortunate to have a wood fire kiln. We fire it 10-12 times a year which is very often for that type of kiln, it requires many work hours along with a lot of wood. With my repeated form is a selection of my wood fire pieces over the past year.

web

https://barronart.net/

insta

https://www.instagram.com/barronart/

Description

Building Community, Celebrating Culture, and Engaging Creativity Through Ceramics

This is a community exhibition of The Bottom’s ceramics class. Over the

course of the last 6 months students have been coming together every

week to make, explore creative expressions, and grow the Knoxville Black

Creative community through the ceramic artform.  The very existence of

this class is a testament to the power of individual and collective

imagination to resist expectations, repair our ever-expanding souls, and

reclaim our creative voices and the culminating exhibition a celebration of

that. This exhibition features the work of Jalynn Baker, Dee Clark, Maggie

Connolly, Jazzmine Curtis, Joyce Drew, Fitrah Hamid Golden, George

Habeib, Alex Kellam, Miz Kip, London Martin, Ty Murray, Jeremy

Myles, Jaleria Rivera, Eric Sherwood.

Description

“Good Weird is the culmination of different bodies of work I have explored in 2022. My favorite aspect of art is the ability to explore new ideas, techniques , and mediums so that I am always moving forward and having a good time while consistently learning. Though my work together feels all over the place; I place a great deal of thought into each piece. The pieces here share my love of color, curiosity, and a naivety in style. My work often plays with themes of surrealism, humor, play, and nature. Most of the time though …I just want to make something expressive and fun for arts sake.

Please enjoy the chaos of the space.”

Description

My work intersects a variety of techniques in ceramics and printmaking to create functional pots. For me, the functional crafted object that exists in the home or in the daily life of the user creates an experience that is drastically different than high art, which traditionally exists in a sterile gallery setting. This subversion is paralleled in the imagery that I use on the surface of my pots which draws influence from American traditional tattoo culture. A culture which has historically existed outside the walls of academia and social acceptance. And it is by these influences and function I wish for my work to be bold and antithetical to mainstream systems of thinking and living.

website

https://www.samchumley.com/

instagram

https://www.instagram.com/xchumleyx/

Description

In a world that feels so heavy at times, I need distraction. My overthinking mind spirals with anxiety and worry, robbing me of joy. Childhood memories remind me of the sense of comfort and belonging I felt back then. Sometimes I long to go back to when time stood still and life seemed simpler. When freedom was riding my bike with no supervision and exploring the woods alone behind our house was the biggest adventure my brother and I could fathom! Everything had the possibility of excitement or the doom of boredom, and nothing in between. Looking back, I realize what a huge part my grandparents played in my life. I have so many fond memories of them and their little personality quirks that didn’t seem significant until now, when they’re gone.

Mamaw Lucy was quirky, funny without meaning to be, and good for a laugh. She showed her love in simple ways like always making sure that everyone in the house had a mini flashlight before we went to bed, so we wouldn’t have to turn on the lights as we found our way to the bathroom at night. She was proud of her all year round “holiday” tree, thought pizza was only a snack, loved shoes & jewelry, and didn’t have a lick of sense when it came to home decor.

Papaw Humphreys was the quieter, more sensible one. He loved fishing in his bass boat, being a deacon at his church, making lists of literally everything, drinking his coffee boiling hot and playing pool. He was a little bit of a “pool shark” and there’s not a time I went over there when we didn’t play a couple of rounds in the basement. You could always count on him to be consistent. He always ended his prayer in the same way, everytime. I will never forget it…”Bless this food. Bless the hands that prepared it. Go with us, guide us, forgive us of our sins. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.”

Papaw Crabtree, was something else. A storyteller and jokester at his best, and an awnry curmudgeon at his worst. Whether he was sitting on the front porch laughing at his bird feeder that threw squirrels in the yard or threatening to cut off my ponytail with his pocket knife, there was never a dull moment with him. He loved gardening, tinkering in his shop, trucks, Nascar and the “banjer.” He was proud of his yard, but hated the magnolia, his “trouble tree.”

These memories bring back a sense of nostalgia and comfort. They are the souvenirs of my youth that I hold dear and hope to never forget. They have shaped who I am and who I am still striving to be. This collection of ceramic work is an ode to those memories. Mono-printing on clay is not a perfect process, but neither are my memories. They are full of cracks and have parts missing revealing the truth underneath. I hope the pieces in this collection bring you a bit of joy and laughter. Like Papaw Crabtree said after every prayer no matter the meal, ” Pass the

Biscuits!”

Description

The feeling of soft clay conforming to my hands. The power felt in the fluidity of the spinning

earth in front of me. The thin peelings flying off the wheel as the clay is cut away and the

bottom of the vessel reveals itself. The orange glow from the flames as the kiln tests the

strength of the now ceramic walls. The last wipe of a clean sponge across the foot of a pot. And

the late nights when all is calm and I sit alone with my creation, running my fingers along the

surface, turning the piece over in my hand, watching the light play with the form and colors. It

is in these moments that I feel in sync with my Creator. I am inspired to concentrate and to do

the task at hand with the best of my abilities. Hoping that when all is said and done my creation

will find its purpose. It is then when I feel the most inspired, when my art interacts with the

world around it. When the rim of a cup reaches the lips of the user, and a sip is supped. And at

sight of one of my bowls filled with food to nourish one’s body. The way the light touches a

vase after fresh flowers have been placed in the space unseen inside. Or how a pot nestles into

a nook on the wall. There is something special in these vessels. Something seemingly deeper

than the physical and chemical changes that occur in the clay and glaze. Clay is a material of

pure potential, there is something in that potentiality that makes me feel that my influence is

important. The pieces you see here all start with that same potential and they are direct results

of the events and circumstances that my actions place upon them. I have spent the past year as

Artist in Residence at Mighty Mud aspiring to discover which events and circumstances will lead

to something special.

Description

Presented by:

Rose Downs, Sioban Jones, christal Yost, Vasanto, And Amelia Galvas 

Collaborations and individual works in textile arts in the time of covid.

A gathering of work, both individual and collaborative, representing the vast possibilities of creation with fiber.

Rose Downs:

Potter, spinner, and weaver

Siobian Jones:

Siobian has been a hair artist in the salon, theater, film,

and fine art photography industry for 20 years

Christal Yost:

Christal Yost has worked in many media over the years primarily building

sculptural works, and has focused on textile art for the last 10 years

Vasanto: 

Vasanto is a felter, spinner and dyer, weaver and ecoprinter, and all-around general fiber nerd.

Description

Our works explore the relationship between cryptid mythology and mental spaces. With influences as diverse as the bigfoot brothels and Tom of Finland, new synergies are distilled from both simple and complex cunnilingus.

Since unicorns ruled Dante’s Inferno we have been fascinated by the theoretical limits of the zeitgeist. What starts out as contemplation soon becomes corrupted into a tragedy of hunger, leaving only a sense of what could have been and the prospect of a new Prince Albert.

As wavering replicas become distorted through bondaged and academic practice, the viewer is left with a testament to the darkness of our minds.

Presented by: The Clay Daddies A.K.A. Parker Pressnell and Arthur Hsu

And T. Victrola Firecracker A.K.A. Brandi Slaybaugh, lover of peculiarity

Description

Clay artists Marion Schlauch, Judy Brater, LeAnn Lewis, Tina Curry, and painter Brenda Fieser have a combined artistic experience of over 200 years.  During the 2020 pandemic, artists had diminishing business opportunities.  Everyone had time to reinvent their art; artists used that time to explore their mediums and create new work.  Pieces in this exhibit reflect this period of time.

Marion Schlauch prides herself as a functional potter.  For 50 years, her love of clay is evident and shows her masterful skills on the potter’s wheel.  Her glazing techniques are precise.  She finishes her pieces in her hand built gas kiln, firing to cone 10.  Since the pandemic, Marion has used her time to create barrel fired tiles.  She has also collaborated with Judy Brater, combining her elegantly wheel-thrown vessels with Judy’s sculptural pieces.   Judy alters Marion’s vessels with surfaced decoration and embellishments, such as sculptural wheel-thrown bird life.  Marion has exhibited for decades in national art festivals, such as The Ann Arbor Street Fair.  She is a member of The Southern Highland Craft Guild and Terra Madre Women in Clay.

Judy Brater began her ceramic career in 1972.  Her work has evolved through decades of exploring texture, altering forms, and incorporating her love of nature in each piece.  Wheel-thrown bird sculptures are a priority in each unique creation.  Time during the pandemic gave her the opportunity to refine her sculptures and create collaborative pieces with Marion Schlauch.  For decades, she has exhibited in national art festivals, has been represented in galleries, and has taught various workshops.  She is a member of The Southern Highland Craft Guild and Terra Madre Women in Clay.

LeAnn Lewis has been working in clay for 15 years.  She is a master on the potter’s wheel.  Her expert shapes are a canvas for her intricately carved sgraffito designs.  Her compositions reflect her love of flora and fauna, and she frequently creates jaunty expressions of farm animals on her pieces.  Since the pandemic, her creativity has expanded to sculpture, and she has explored diverse firing techniques.  She is a member of The Southern Highland Craft Guild and Terra Madre Women in Clay.

Tina Curry has been working in clay for over 30 years.  As a retired graphic designer, she is now a full-time ceramic and bronze sculptor.  Each one-of-a-kind piece has its own distinctive style and personality.  She uses natural elements and alternative firing techniques to finish her pieces.  To create a piece of sculpture is a spiritual process for Tina.  Since the pandemic, Tina has had time to share her skills by teaching workshops.  She has also studied anatomy, which has changed her approach to her animal sculptures.  She is a member of The Southern Highland Craft Guild and Terra Madre Woman in Clay.  

Brenda Fieser has painted for decades.  Working primarily in oils, her impressionistic style is evident in her brush strokes that capture movement and the relationship of light through texture.  She paints what she sees in nature and how it makes her feel.  Each painting is created from her experiences.  Since the pandemic she has pushed her senses.  Nature is her energy source and never ending inspiration.    

Description

Alphabet Soup is an assortment of works from studio mates and interdisciplinary artists Carrie Garrison and Emma Vieser. Much like alphabet soup from a can where letters don’t spell out legible words, seeing Garrison and Vieser’s work together doesn’t always make perfect sense. Garrison’s ceramics and paintings are defined by bright colors and graphic patterns whereas Vieser’s paintings are lush and veer more towards abstraction than representation. Sometimes it can be surprising that all these works came out of the same can, er, studio.

Emma Vieser is a queer multimedia artist in Knoxville, TN. They attended the University

of Tennessee-Knoxville, where they earned a BFA in 2D Studio Art and a BA in Art

History. Since graduating in 2020, they have had their work shown in the Southeast

Museum of Photography, started a small business to market and sell their work, and

been published in local art quarterlies as well as larger online zines. Though most of

their work from school is photography, their newer explorations are in painting and

ceramics.

Carrie Garrison is a Knoxville-based multimedia artist/designer. After graduating from the University of Tennessee with a BFA in Graphic Design in 2020, Carrie pulled her focus back on to her fine art, specifically functional hand-built ceramics and the occasional painting. She is also currently teaching middle school art in Knox County. 

Carrie Garrison:

https://linktr.ee/foolishdesigns 

https://www.instagram.com/foolish.designs/

Em Vieser

https://www.instagram.com/perenniall.y/

https://perennially.carrd.co/