News

Fragile, beautiful, at same time

By Joanne Flemming
Compass Correspondent

Jon Wos, a University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh art major, believes he can do whatever he wants. That's probably not too unusual for a 22-year-old college student. However, most don't have osteogenesis imperfecta, a brittle bone disease Jon was born with, but which he refuses to let stop him from achieving the goals he has set for himself as an artist.

Evidence of the strength of this belief can be found in the $10,000 grand prize his watercolor self-portrait won this fall in a national contest for persons with disabilities, ages 16-25, sponsored by Very Special Arts and Volkswagen Corporation.

Very Special arts brings the arts to people with disabilities, Wos said. He entered four, two-dimensional pieces in the competition in late August and learned, three weeks later, that he was one of 15 finalists.

He and his father, Steve Wos of Green Bay, went to Washington, D.C., to receive the prize. His award-winning painting - all four jurors for the exhibit ranked his work first - will be displayed at the National Children's Hospital for a time.

Wos said the self-portrait, drawn from a photograph and imagination, shows him sitting against a tree looking over the countryside. In the background is his wheelchair and a boneyard, representing his disability.

This is not the first major prize Jon has won, he and his father said. As a student at Appleton High School-North, his pen and ink drawing of a house won "Best of Show" in a competition called "An Artistic Discovery." His picture was displayed for a year in the United States Capitol.

Jon said osteogenesis imperfecta is a genetic disorder that caused him to be born with 13 fractures.

A medical dictionary explained that the slightest trauma could break his bones.

"If I fell off a chair, I'd break something most likely," he said, adding that bones most likely to be affected were the long bones in his arms and legs.

He had "lots of surgeries" when he was growing up, including placing pins and plates into his bones.

Although he is in a wheelchair "all the time," he is "stronger" and "a little more physically active" as an adult. He "took his first couple steps without holding on to anything maybe a year or two ago."

Speaking of how his disorder has affected him, Jon said, "It is part of who I am. It's made me who I am." However, he addresses it only occasionally in his art, preferring instead to convey "a sense of balance and calmness" in his work.

He adds in the program notes for the exhibit that "Art is a window to my life, so viewers will find my disability all over my art. Art was one of the few things that helped my self-esteem because I could say I was really good at something.

Wos said he had wanted to be an artist since he was three, "since I could talk and knew what it was."

In the program notes, Jon also is quoted as saying "When I was younger, I spent a lot of time drawing from bed to occupy my time. It was natural for me to put time toward my art and that made me a better artist."

He first worked with colored pencil. He moved on to oil and acrylic paints, stained glass, glass bead making and water color.

His favorite medium is glass. "I love all glass. It is fragile, perfect and beautiful at the same time," he said.

He hasn't limited himself as to media. He works in ceramics and bronze, which "are very physically intensive." If something is too heavy to carry, friends help.

Jon's work can be seen at Jambalaya, the art cooperative where he is a member, in downtown Oshkosh. His art has also been displayed at Coventry Glass in Appleton and UW-O student art shows.

Jon, who is a member of St. Bernard Parish, Appleton, said his faith "gives me hope to keep going." After graduation, he wants to open his own studio and gallery.

Jon's prize-winning painting, as well as the award-winning paintings by 14 other young artists can be seen at www.vsarts.org/gallery/exhibits/vw/2003.