Artist Reception to be Held on November 17

Right: Potter, Tom Turnbull takes time out to show some of his work at Columbia State Community College's Pryor Art Gallery. Pictured with him is his wife and assistant, Maureen Turnbull. The exhibit, which also features the photography a Nashville photographer, Helen Burrus, will be on display beginning on Wednesday, November 4 and concluding on Wednesday, November 25.

The work of photographer Helen Burrus and potter and glaze inventor Tom Turnbull will be featured in the Pryor Art Gallery at Columbia State Community College during November. The exhibit officially opens on Wednesday, November 4 and will be on display until Wednesday, November 25.

Burrus, a well-known wedding and portrait photographer from Nashville, began her career as a hobby photographer after she graduated from Vanderbilt University. Photography has been her profession for 13 years.

Travel photos taken by Burrus in an array of different settings will be on display for the viewing pleasure of the public. Photos featured in the exhibit are a combination of color and black and white photography taken at different locations at home and abroad.

"Helen has that artistic camera eye for a point of view and framing that help us focus in on the romantic doorway, as well as the vaulted ceiling, an engaging smile or an intense artisan, a distant villa, or a colorful marketplace," said Lucy Kuykendall, curator and director of Columbia State's Pryor Art Gallery.

Urn and bottle forms, elegant plates and bowls, wall-plaques with line drawings, and a new line of dinnerware will also be featured in the exhibit during November. Pottery has been a part of Turnbull's life for as long as he can remember. "I was in it before I was born-it's in my DNA," said Turnbull, discussing how much pottery is a part of his life. "If I hit the lottery tomorrow, it would change my life very little. I would still be doing what I'm doing."

Growing up in a family that owned a ceramic supply business led him to attend college at New York University. Turnbull opened his own ceramics supply business in 1986 and led a team that developed the glaze product, "Opulence Glaze" ™ which was sold to a major European company and is now distributed worldwide. He has since sold his company and currently works from home along with his wife Maureen.

"He works in the traditional methods of both wheel driven and slab fabrication, thereby producing both decorative and utilitarian pieces-all with an aesthetic rooted in his personal glaze product and technique," said Kuykendall.

There will be an artist reception on Tuesday, November 17 from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. Both artists will have pieces for sale. The reception and the exhibit are free and open to the public. The Pryor Art Gallery is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m., and on Friday from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. The gallery is also open on weekends during special events.

The Pryor Art Gallery is located in the Waymon L. Hickman building on Columbia State's Columbia Campus.

To learn more about the featured artists, visit Burrus' page at www.helenburrusphotography.com and Turnbull's page at www.turnbullpottery.com.

Columbia State is a two-year college, serving a nine-county area in southern Middle Tennessee with locations in Columbia, Franklin, Lawrenceburg, Lewisburg and Clifton. As Tennessee's first community college, Columbia State is committed to increasing access and enhancing diversity at all five campuses. Columbia State is a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents, the sixth largest higher education system in the nation. For more information, please visit www.columbiastate.edu.