Knoxville retail gallery a haven for local, regional artists
Barron Hall is an artist on a mission. He not only creates art himself but offers the opportunity for other artists to share and sell their wares, as well. A native of Tampa, Florida, he started working in ceramics in 2001 before eventually relocating to Knoxville to complete his masters. He bought the gallery famously known as Mighty Mud in 2013 from Jessica Kortz, a local graphic designer, University of Tennessee graduate and mosaic artist who had taken it over from Adam Paulek, another UT grad who had breathed new life into the property. Originally called Campbell’s Ceramic Supply upon its inception, it was revived and renamed after going out of business by Paulek, who held gallery shows and rented out studio space, which in turn had led Hall to begin teaching at the studio.
“I had a gallery show with UT while in school and then procured a studio space after graduation,” recalls Hall, who since has turned Mighty Mud into the expansive gallery and community space it is today.
“I was originally a 2D artist,” he explains. “[But] I took a clay and sculpture class at the University of South Florida while going for my painting and drawing degree and decided to switch my concentration to 3D art. After switching and working for another two years there, I was offered a full ride scholarship and an opportunity to teach at the University of Tennessee. My wife, my two young children and I moved to Knoxville so that I could pursue my MFA in ceramics in 2005.”
Hall says that Mighty Mud strives to create a distinctive environment. “We consider ourselves a clay-centric studio, but we do have multiple disciplines,” he notes. “We have painters, sculptors, mosaic, music, wig-making, potters, hand builders, printmaking, digital media and more.”
Currently, Mighty Mud, which is located at 127 Jennings Ave., hosts approximately 100 individual artists that rent space from the gallery on a monthly basis. Roughly 100 students take classes in the space, as well. In addition, the business hosts monthly gallery shows. A reception takes place every first Friday of the month.
“There’s an application process on our website [www.mightymud.com], and they are usually booked up about a year in advance.” Hall says. “Usually, all of the pieces in the show gallery are for sale – anywhere from 12 to 100 pieces. Our everyday sales gallery houses between 200-300 pieces.”
In addition to displaying the work of the various artists that display their work at the gallery, Mighty Mud also serves as a clay, glaze and tool supplier to both local schools and those in surrounding counties.
“Knoxville is blessed with its amount of public-school art programs that offer ceramics as part of the curriculum,” Hall says. “Also, almost all of the community colleges, private colleges and universities offer ceramics classes, as well, which is a blessing to us and our business – not to mention the boon it creates for having experienced students and teachers become a part of Mud.”
As for his own efforts, Hall says he’s most fond of “making things that people think aren’t possible with clay.” “I don’t care about the parameters of ceramics,” he adds, a credo that seems to sum up his stance entirely. “Mighty Mud refers to our mud being the mightiest!”
Not surprisingly then, Hall also is enthusiastic about the reception he and his efforts have received from the local community.
“Starting from the initial visit to Knoxville to tour the facilities and talk to current students to my wife and I coming up for a visit to look at local schools and places to live, we fell in love with Knoxville,” he recalls. “We’ve raised our children here and worked and thrived in local businesses and the arts. Our oldest daughter recently returned from art schools abroad to finish school at UT’s film department and is now working in her field.
“As a grad student, I was the director of UTK’s Gallery 1010, a student-run gallery which is still going strong. We continue to be a strong supporter of local art and galleries, some 20 in all in Knoxville proper.”
In that regard, Mighty Mud has become a vibrant component within East Tennessee’s art environs. “We consider ourselves a community studio even though we are privately owned,” Hall maintains. “Mighty Mud strives to be inclusive and available to everyone in our local region and beyond. Over the past few years, we have begun to branch out nationally with our sales platforms, but our amazing teachers and studio members are what makes Mighty Mud what it is: an amazing destination where artists can come and work and know that they have a place.”
