search articles: 

   from the issue of April 7, 2005

     
 
Informational artist invades East Union

 BY TROY FEDDERSON, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Kansas City-based artist Jessa Huebing-Reitinger thought her husband, James, had gone buggy.

 
Jessa Huebing-Reitinger adds detail to a Salt Creek Tiger Beetle painting last Friday. Heubing-Reitinger and her husband James will be...
 Jessa Huebing-Reitinger adds detail to a Salt Creek Tiger Beetle painting last Friday. Heubing-Reitinger and her husband James will be at the East Union through April. Photo by Troy Fedderson.

Two years ago, as the couple struggled to scratch out an existence, James started prodding his wife toward painting insects. He saw the multi-legged creatures as a perfect blend of her subject matter - which at that time included mechanical compositions commissioned by corporations and rainforest scenes just for fun.

"He was pushing me to paint these big bugs," Jessa said. "I thought he was nuts. But, then I saw the light, that these are amazing creatures with all of this microscopic detail."

Fast-forward to today and the couple has transformed that vision into Project InSECT (International Spectrum of Enormous Crawling Things), a traveling art exhibit bent on educating others on the benefits of the small creatures.

Their sojourn stretched to UNL last week, as Project InSECT set up shop for a month-long stay in the East Union. During their time in Lincoln, Jessa plans to start, complete and donate a painting of Nebraska's endangered Salt Creek Tiger Beetle to UNL.

Their hope is that the seven-plus foot tall paintings hanging in the East Union will strike a chord - or at least conversation - from those passing by.

"A lot of people see insects as disgusting little things that need to be killed," James said. "But, when you see them at this size, you can't help but appreciate them."

In their travels, the couple estimates that about 70 percent of those who stop and talk see the point of the exhibit. The remaining 30 percent simply won't have anything to do with their subject matter.

"I had my own prejudices against these things at first," Jessa said. "But, now I can hold any of them. I'll even hold a tarantula now."

Those who pass by are encouraged to stop and talk.

Huebing-Reitinger's painting of a Thailand lantern bug she named, Norman. Photo by Troy Fedderson.
 
Huebing-Reitinger's painting of a Thailand lantern bug she named, Norman. Photo by Troy Fedderson.

 

"This is truly a remarkable thing to bring to the university," Leon Higley, an entomology professor who met the couple at a conference and worked to get them to campus, said. "It sounds kind of hokey, but I believe this will help people recapture a fascination they had with insects as a kid."

Higley, Jessa and James are all excited to be joining forces to educate people on the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle. Endangered at the state level, the beetles are only found in salt marshes north of Lincoln. Their numbers are believed to be below 1,000.

James said he is also willing to share the couple's experiences with any classroom on campus. They also offer a website www.projectinsect.com to get more information on their work.

The work in the East Union will run over the next three weeks, with Jessa painting from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.


GO TO: ISSUE OF APRIL 7

NEWS HEADLINES FOR APRIL 7

Kooser wins 2005 Pulitzer for poetry
Coble leads the way in China, Japan research
Informational artist invades East Union
A Piece of University History
Conference marks Voting Rights Act anniversary
Opinions start to shape UNL master plan
Perlman previews budget info

732043S34493X