Wednesday, June 25, 2008

BIG Bugs Are Visiting The Library

There's a man here in Moultrie who creates BIG bugs. And when you come inside the main library and up the front steps of the foyer, you'll find a bunch of them right there in the glass display case. They're not your usual kind of bugs and they are really BIG! There's a spider, a crab and a caterpillar, just to name a few. And if you go into the Children's Library, you'll find even more in display cases
there.
All of these bugs are made from old motorcycle parts by a fantastic metal sculpture artist named A. J. Buehre who lives here in Moultrie. Miss Norma, our Children's Librarian, told me about him. Then I read an article in the Moultrie Observer by reporter Adelia Ladson, who interviewed Mr. Buehre. Here's what she found out.
Mr. Buehre grew up in Wisconsin, but moved to Moultrie ten years ago. He had worked as a welder and fabricator. He had a gallery in Wisconsin, but said he didn't like the experience. Even though there was a high demand for his art and even though he made a promise to himself that he wouldn't make two of the same thing, that's what people wanted him to do. So, he quit for a while and became a mechanical engineer for 15+ years. That's quite a while, huh? But it was apparently something he just couldn't give up
entirely.
When he moved to Moultrie, Georgia, he started working on his art again and now has a studio on his property. A. J. works with copper, brass, bronze and aluminum. He not only creates sculptures, but jewelry and furniture out of the old motorcycle parts. He also creates pieces that "just happen," and when he joins them together, they become a sculpture. His works have been shown locally and nationally.
You really should stop by the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library and see Mr. Buehre's fantastic BIG bugs. And keep your eyes open for a large sculpture that will be on the Colquitt County Arts Center's property, too. He's already begun the drawings. Wonder if it will be another BIG bug!

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