Alabama artist Larry Strickland will return to his alma mater, Troy University, on Thursday. He will be honored with a reception at the university’s International Arts Center from 5 to 7p.m. and the public is invited.

The IAC’s featured exhibit, “Larry Strickland: Sticks and Stones” showcases a collection of sculptures composed of sticks and bones and stones the artist has collected while meandering through the wilds of nature.

If the artist’s name is not immediately recognizable, his work on campus certainly is. Strickland is the sculptor of Troy University’s center piece, the 9-foot Trojan Warrior on the Bibb Graves Quad.

Carrie Jaxon, IAC curator, said Strickland’s “Sticks and Stones” exhibition features a collection of sculptures that were created using materials he has “borrowed” from nature.

“Larry’s artistic vision co-exists with the ravages nature has dealt the materials, celebrating the materials/ motion and imperfection and incorporating them into the sculpture’s design,” Jaxon said. “Larry sees in each durable dead piece of wood the representation of life’s cycle – birth, death, re-birth: it lives, dies and is re-born in the vision of the artist.”

To add to the wonder of Strickland’s artistry, is a series of poetry that will be intertwined with the individual sculptures

Among the pieces included in the exhibit is a larger-than-life horse, a Trojan warrior and several angels. A series of poetry will be intertwined with the individual sculptures.

Strickland is a native of Florala. He attended Troy State University. He ¬¬¬¬¬served Uncle Sam in the US Army as an illustrator during the war in Vietnam. After Vietnam, Strickland attended the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida where he graduated at the top of his class. He later completed his degree at Troy State.