Join our family of curious Kansas Citians

Discover unheard stories about Kansas City, every Thursday.

Thank you for subscribing!

Check your inbox, you should see something from us.

Sign Me Up
Hit enter to search or ESC to close

An Artist's Eye: Ocularist Bud Turntine

Ocularist fitting a young girl with a prosthetic eye
Share this story
Sponsor Message Become a Flatland sponsor
1 minute read
This is the tale of two eyes and the man who made them. Bud Turntine is a board-certified ocularist who creates prosthetic eyes for patients out of his nondescript office in Shawnee, Kan. When you think of prosthetic eyes, images of round, glass eyeballs may come to mind. Indeed, fake eyes used to be made of glass – over 60 years ago. Now, they are made from acrylic. Quite a bit of work, and artistry, goes into creating an ocular prosthesis and one area man, Bud Turntine, an aspiring artist in his youth, turned his talents into a 30-year career of creating what he calls ‘wearable art’. Health desk reporter Todd Feeback takes us into his world as he creates eyes for two very different patients.

Tags:

Like what you are reading?

Discover more unheard stories about Kansas City, every Thursday.

Thank you for subscribing!

Check your inbox, you should see something from us.

Enter Email
Reading these stories is free, but telling them is not. Start your monthly gift now to support Flatland’s community-focused reporting. Support Local Journalism
Sponsor Message Become a Flatland sponsor

Ready to read next

Slowing the slump: summer literacy programs get kids reading

Read Story

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *