Yummy Mud Puddle, just outside of downtown Burnsville, was established in 2003 by artists John D. Richards and Claudia Dunaway. The two left Florida to return to Claudia’s native North Carolina and found their ten acres of forested mountainside that are now home to two studios, a gallery, a rental house, and the yummy mud puddle itself. The namesake of the enterprise is more pond than mud puddle and is home to a number of large goldfish. Every inch of the property has a particular character and charm. That character might take on more of John’s quirky sense of humor or Claudia’s graceful sense of beauty. Either way, it certainly won’t be boring!
John works in mixed media and creates everything from night lights to hanging sculptures of salvaged materials. Claudia is a printmaker with a past in ceramics. Their daughter, Kathryn Lynch, creates her own line of hand-sewn bags fashioned from salvaged fabric of vibrant colors and detailed patterns.
Visitors to Yummy Mud Puddle will get to enjoy John’s creations which include found object sculpture, wire and vinylized paper lamps, dog leash holders, trash critters, and more than can be easily imagined. Claudia was a potter before taking a wood block print class at Penland School of Craft. Some of her fine pottery pieces still hang in the gallery. Her studio is devoted to her woodblock printmaking, which covers a vast range of subject matter on larger wall hangings, cards, and posters. There is no shortage of delightful surprises to discover at Yummy Mud Puddle.
Open by Appointment
