Glass museum to commission 'Bacon Boy' sculpture

HERMISTON, Ore. -- Superman has kryptonite and a man-of-steel physique. Spiderman can cling to walls, scramble up sides of buildings and shoot webs from his wrists. But Bacon Boy -- he fights crime using the power of bacon grease.

A Hermiston boy created his bacon strip-shaped crime fighter as he battled acute myelogenous leukemia from his hospital room in Portland.

Recently, Tacoma's Museum of Glass chose one of Austin Winters' drawings to transform into a glass sculpture for a permanent collection of kids' art at the museum.

It all started when painter Frank Etxanix began visiting the 10-year-old as part of the Children's Healing Art Project at Doernbecher Children's Hospital where Austin was recuperating from a bone marrow transplant. Etxanix challenged Austin to dream up a character to draw. Austin's imagination went into overdrive, creating an imaginary crime fighter and a nemesis or two.

"He shoots bacon bits out of one hand," Austin said, describing Bacon Boy, "and grease out of the other." "Meat Vision" allows Bacon Boy to propel sausages and corn dogs out of his eye sockets. Additionally, the superhero uses suction to upload various substances like water and grease.

With his friend, Sgt. Sausage, he fights the evil Fry Guy who lives life with a single-minded goal -- to burn his enemies.

"Fry Guy's normal shape is a frying pan," Austin said, "He turns into whatever he touches."

Austin, a student at Desert View Elementary, made drawings of his characters, created iron-on images of Bacon Boy, did animation and shaped him in clay. Then came the day when Etxanix informed Austin that he had secretly entered Bacon Boy into a contest.

The Tacoma Museum of Glass had chosen to make a glass version of Bacon Boy for a permanent collection of kids' art. A contingent of glass artists traveled to Portland last week in their mobile hot shop and greeted the artist like royalty.

"The artists came out and shook his hand," said Austin's dad, Jay Winters. "Then he disappeared like a movie star." Austin donned a Viking helmet and safety glasses and advised the artists on color. Lindsay Ross, the managing director of the Children's Healing Art Project, and Austin's parents, Jay and Lisa, watched the process from bleachers positioned near Elements Glass art studio in Northwest Portland.

Ross said Austin was firm about his ideas.

"He definitely worked to make sure his vision was clear," Ross said. "All of a sudden, these guys are scurrying around -- they wanted to remain true to the artist's concept."

As they worked, a pound of bacon sizzled atop the glass furnace for atmosphere. Periodically, the glass artists shouted, "Bacon's cooking."

Austin watched as the artists used steel rods to manipulate glass in a red-hot furnace. A docent stood on a stage, giving a play-by-play description of the process to the audience and answering questions. Ross tested the docent by asking him about Bacon Boy's superpowers and, to her surprise, he knew.

"They had researched him," she said. "Austin was no different than Dale Chihuly (world-famous glass blower) -- he was treated equally to any established artist."

The glass rendition of Bacon Boy will be part of a traveling "Kids Design Glass" exhibit, before being displayed at the museum. Austin will receive a second sculpture to keep.

The 10-year-old could use some of Bacon Boy's superpowers in his own world. A bone marrow transplant from his older brother Chase, 17, in October put Austin into remission for 58 days. Now, however, the cancer is back.

Ross hopes he will find refuge in the healing power of art.