The work of two faculty members, H. M. Patterson and Dr. Deborah Bryan, were featured as part of a “Faculty Spotlight” on September 10 at the Allison Gallery and Rankin House on the Greeneville campus.
Patterson reads from her short story, "Ballad of the Family Bishop."
Patterson, an assistant professor of English and chair of the English Department, read one of her short stories, followed by the opening of an exhibition of photography by Dr. Deborah Bryan, assistant professor of art, in the Allison Gallery.
Introduced by Joe Borden, a creative writing major, Patterson read from a short story titled “Ballad of the Family Bishop,” which she described as a re-visioning of an African-American folktale. A number of students, as well as faculty and staff members, gathered on the front lawn for the reading. Patterson’s reading of the vivid and thought-provoking tale was enthusiastically received by the audience.
Audience members were then invited inside the gallery to view Bryan’s exhibit, “Natural Structures,” which features black and white photos from her portfolio of the same name and consists of macrophotographs of mushrooms. The photographs were taken in her yard this summer and Dr. Bryan explained that this type of work is both technically demanding and requires constant attention to design basics of line, shape, value and texture. Removing color, by processing in black and white, stresses the importance of these basic elements even more.
This is one of the photograph's in Dr. Bryan's exhibit.
“These beautiful structures seem to just pop up, are usually ignored, and then shrivel, or turn into jelly,” said Bryan.
Bryan’s gallery exhibit will remain on display at the Clem Allison Art Gallery through September 29. The gallery will be open from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday until September 12. The gallery will be open from noon to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday beginning September 17. The change in hours was necessitated by a course meeting time.
Students filled the Allison Gallery to view Dr. Bryan's exhibit. The exhibit will be on display through Sept. 29.