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Retired teacher puts heart (and hands) into his work | statesmanjournal.com | Statesman Journal
John Roy Wilson would hesitate to use his name in the same sentence as Pablo Picasso or Michelangelo Buonarroti. But all summer he has been been channeling the spirit of these great artists in an effort to inspire students at the Oregon School for the Deaf.
The Salem resident is creating a mural in an outdoor passageway that students use daily. He spends most days on a portable scaffold, painting the 21-by-11-foot wall. He doesn't expect to finish until after children return in the fall.
That's a lot of labor for a wall, especially one in a narrow alley that lacks a good vantage point. But Wilson is no ordinary painter. He retired in 2003 as a teacher at the school, and he's doing the job for free.
"I'm not an artist. I'm a high school art teacher, a retired one even," he said this week during a break. "This school gave me the great good fortune of being able to work here 25 years. This is a wonderful place to work."
Wilson, 65, signs "pretty well," but he can hear. He fell into his career after returning in 1969 from more than a year as an Army medic in Vietnam.
His roommate in Austin, Texas, was a conscientious objector who did alternate service in a school for the deaf. When the roommate began graduate studies at Western Oregon University (then Oregon College of Education), Wilson and several more friends joined him. They all went on to work with deaf and hard-of-hearing people.
"And it all comes back to one person refusing to serve in Vietnam," said Wilson.
The mural isn't Wilson's first work of public art on the Locust Street NE campus. He's already known as the creator of the school's iconic sculpture, a huge pair of hands carved from a fallen fir.
The hands are linked in the sign for "butterfly." As Wilson explained at the time, "Knowledge lets us 'fly,' breaking the bonds of ignorance."
When administrators requested a mural to honor school graduates who have gone on to higher education, Wilson spent six weeks at the drawing table. He produced a design that centered on a one-sided Möbius strip, which he describes as "a moment of time between the endless past and the endless future ... a time to use our educational opportunities."
Figures from Picasso's anti-war masterpiece, "Guernica," suggest the harm to which education can be put. Opposite that panel is a hopeful sketch of Don Quixote following his dream. At the top stretch two hands inspired by those in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel; but these are the hesitant hand of a student and the encouraging hand of a teacher.
"Hands are very much part of our culture," Wilson said. "We communicate visually."
The final quadrant won't be designed until students return to school in the fall. After brainstorming with them about their education, Wilson will draw the panel and help kids paint it.
Dr. Sharla Jones, education support supervisor, said school leaders always are looking for ways to enrich the campus environment through art.
However, she said, there's no way the school could have afforded to hire a muralist.
"Our budget cuts were so severe, we had to do layoffs," she said. "You know what it takes to do a mural, the hours involved. We are so appreciative."
For his part, Wilson has his eye on another expanse of blank wall, the vast gray exterior of the school's gym. Sports and drama take place within, and he already can envision a five-part mural that depicts tragedy, comedy, boys and girls basketball and girls volleyball.
"I'm young enough and healthy enough that I can be painting murals for years," he said.
John Roy Wilson paints a mural Wednesday at the Oregon School for the Deaf, where he retired in 2003. The mural incorporates the famous works of Picasso, Michelangelo and others with an emphasis on hands. (Kobbi R. Blair | Statesman Journal)
The Oregon School for the Deaf welcomes volunteers. Contact Dr. Sharla Jones, Educational Support Supervisor/ Community Relations, sharla.jones@osd.k12.or.us; (503) 378-3078; VP (503) 400-6162.
John Roy Wilson would hesitate to use his name in the same sentence as Pablo Picasso or Michelangelo Buonarroti. But all summer he has been been channeling the spirit of these great artists in an effort to inspire students at the Oregon School for the Deaf.
The Salem resident is creating a mural in an outdoor passageway that students use daily. He spends most days on a portable scaffold, painting the 21-by-11-foot wall. He doesn't expect to finish until after children return in the fall.
That's a lot of labor for a wall, especially one in a narrow alley that lacks a good vantage point. But Wilson is no ordinary painter. He retired in 2003 as a teacher at the school, and he's doing the job for free.
"I'm not an artist. I'm a high school art teacher, a retired one even," he said this week during a break. "This school gave me the great good fortune of being able to work here 25 years. This is a wonderful place to work."
Wilson, 65, signs "pretty well," but he can hear. He fell into his career after returning in 1969 from more than a year as an Army medic in Vietnam.
His roommate in Austin, Texas, was a conscientious objector who did alternate service in a school for the deaf. When the roommate began graduate studies at Western Oregon University (then Oregon College of Education), Wilson and several more friends joined him. They all went on to work with deaf and hard-of-hearing people.
"And it all comes back to one person refusing to serve in Vietnam," said Wilson.
The mural isn't Wilson's first work of public art on the Locust Street NE campus. He's already known as the creator of the school's iconic sculpture, a huge pair of hands carved from a fallen fir.
The hands are linked in the sign for "butterfly." As Wilson explained at the time, "Knowledge lets us 'fly,' breaking the bonds of ignorance."
When administrators requested a mural to honor school graduates who have gone on to higher education, Wilson spent six weeks at the drawing table. He produced a design that centered on a one-sided Möbius strip, which he describes as "a moment of time between the endless past and the endless future ... a time to use our educational opportunities."
Figures from Picasso's anti-war masterpiece, "Guernica," suggest the harm to which education can be put. Opposite that panel is a hopeful sketch of Don Quixote following his dream. At the top stretch two hands inspired by those in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel; but these are the hesitant hand of a student and the encouraging hand of a teacher.
"Hands are very much part of our culture," Wilson said. "We communicate visually."
The final quadrant won't be designed until students return to school in the fall. After brainstorming with them about their education, Wilson will draw the panel and help kids paint it.
Dr. Sharla Jones, education support supervisor, said school leaders always are looking for ways to enrich the campus environment through art.
However, she said, there's no way the school could have afforded to hire a muralist.
"Our budget cuts were so severe, we had to do layoffs," she said. "You know what it takes to do a mural, the hours involved. We are so appreciative."
For his part, Wilson has his eye on another expanse of blank wall, the vast gray exterior of the school's gym. Sports and drama take place within, and he already can envision a five-part mural that depicts tragedy, comedy, boys and girls basketball and girls volleyball.
"I'm young enough and healthy enough that I can be painting murals for years," he said.
John Roy Wilson paints a mural Wednesday at the Oregon School for the Deaf, where he retired in 2003. The mural incorporates the famous works of Picasso, Michelangelo and others with an emphasis on hands. (Kobbi R. Blair | Statesman Journal)
The Oregon School for the Deaf welcomes volunteers. Contact Dr. Sharla Jones, Educational Support Supervisor/ Community Relations, sharla.jones@osd.k12.or.us; (503) 378-3078; VP (503) 400-6162.