When an artistic young girl and a fun-loving father bond over a storied football team, inspiration surely follows … and so do awards.
Jordyn Hussey, a University of Wisconsin Oshkosh junior art education major, recently placed first in the college category of the Green Bay Packers student art contest with a game-day traditions theme.
Jordyn Hussey with award-winning painting depicting Packers tradition.
“My tradition was to paint my dad’s head to look like the Packer helmet. My dad is bald, so his head was the perfect surface to paint on,” said Hussey, who titled her work My First Surface.
The painting will be on display at Lambeau Field during the upcoming season. Hussey’s achievement also garnered her three tickets to an upcoming game, Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame and Museum passes, tour passes, a $500 travel voucher and a $5,000 donation to UWO’s art department.
“My father’s head truly did spark my painting career. My piece was selected out of a very competitive pool, and as a rising painter, I find this accomplishment to be one of my greatest achievements,” she said.
The Appleton native began her UW Oshkosh journey at the Fox Cities campus before transferring to the Oshkosh campus this spring.
“It has been a pleasure to work with Jordyn. She is a highly motivated student with a deep drive for excellence and achievement. She is very active with applying for opportunities and exercising the potential of her creative practices,” said UWO assistant art professor Trina Smith.
“We are very proud of Jordyn as our student and anticipate continued success as she moves through the program on to her professional career.”
Hussey said she is especially passionate about oil painting.
“You can achieve so much with a medium that has existed for 500-plus years, and I find that super fascinating. It’s also a way of expressing myself and my work; I believe that pigments on a canvas communicate in ways that words on a page do not. Communication is sometimes hard for me, so infusing images together in a painting is my favorite way to go about it,” she explained.
Following graduation from UWO, Hussey plans to continue her study of drawing and painting by pursuing a master’s degree in fine art.
“I want to continue to progress my skills, as well as someday teach them to others,” she said.
UWO art department chair Susan Maxwell said the $5,000 donation could boost the Visual Arts Fund, which is used to purchase or maintain equipment, sponsor visiting artists or support students taking study-aboard trips or class field trips to see museum collections.
“Seeing art in person is such an integral part of learning about art that it’s an important aspect of our mission to get students out to see art in the real world,” Maxwell said.
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