A weekly peek at an emerging artist

Tag : Fabric Yarn


Fiber artist Jerry Buening doesnt feel like he used the rightside of his brain very much during his career as a scientist theUniversity of Missouri.

Buening spent his career as a research scientist with the Collegeof Veterinary Sciences mostly studying tick-borne diseases. Now hestudies warp and weft to create hand-woven rugs, place mats andwall hangings. The right side of his brain - the artistic side -wrestles with things such as texture and color choices.

"Ive learned a lot about colors," he said. "Its not my strongsuit."

Buening, who retired three years ago at the age of 65, spends mostof his time now in the weaving room at Access Arts, a community artschool that aims to make art accessible for every resident ofColumbia, regardless of physical ability or financial status.

"My office staff gave me a gift certificate to do pottery; thatshow I got started over here," Buening said over the rhythmicclacking sound of his teacher, Jenny Sennott, weaving.

That was five years ago. Buening started weaving four years ago andjust recently started to feel comfortable selling his creations."They are a little more finished than they were," he said.

Buenings work is on display at an exhibit at the University ofMissouris Ellis Library along with other student work from AccessArts. The exhibit is located in the first-floor colonnade and runsthrough July 31.

Weaving is an art that also provides plenty of challenge for thescientific mind. The majority of the work goes into setting up theloom, Buening said, which requires measuring threads and choosingwhat kind of material you want to use for the weft, the thread thatruns horizontally through a weaving. Buening has used fabric, yarn,mop cotton and, recently, macram