My friend Jon Metz is an Army veteran, former Temple football player, former teacher and current Navy employee. But to me, he’s first and foremost an artist. (Second, he’s a devoted fan of my cheesesteaks.) You might run into him over the next few weeks at one of those holiday makers markets. That’s where he sells much of his work.
When I came home from the hospital a few months back, Jon made me a great piece of his wood-burned art, which is officially known as pyrography. We’ve been close ever since. Metz grew up outside Philly (Montgomery County) and went to Temple not to play football — although he did play for the Owls — but to attend Tyler School of Art. Not too many college football players that are fine arts majors. After graduating, he taught art in the Brandywine School District in Delaware, then left to work for the U.S. Navy, where he has more free time to pursue his passion to create.
Jon wants, one day, to move to a place outside Philly where he has land, access to birch and pine direct from nature and a dedicated art studio space. For now, he works out of his living room, which has the feel of a gallery — and where his art pays tribute to our hometown.
“Philadelphia’s got a huge influence on what I do and how I live,” he tells me. “It inspires my work — all my love.” I recognize portraits of Bryce Harper, Jalen Hurts, Kyle Schwarber and a new one of Saquon Barkley.
“I just finished up a Saquon last week. That backwards leap he did versus the Jets? I’m like, you know what? That’s when I knew I wanted to do a piece with him,” he says. “The year’s not even finished yet, but he’s definitely earned a spot to immortalize him.”
Some of his art is less representational. I really like a trio of works he has hanging that depict skeletons. He also does a lot of commissions: landscapes, quotes, family portraits, pet portraits. (Cost: from $90 for an ornament to $200 for a portrait. Time to complete: one to three weeks, depending how busy he is.) When he goes to festivals, he always brings an example of a wood burning of his rescue pup Asher, so “that people actually see and can touch and feel what it actually looks like in their hands,” he says.
Every commission has a personal touch. Metz makes sure he speaks to his clients directly to be able to interpret what they want and offer his artistic input. He tells them, “If you want an exact reproduction, go to a photographer.” His clients understand they’re paying him for his years of training and his unique eye.
After Jon makes each piece, he asks himself the same questions: “Is this good enough? Would I hang it up? If the answer is yes, then it’s good enough. If it’s not, then I sand it down, and start a new one,” he says.
What’s he proudest of? “That my work is valued somewhere, that it means something to somebody.” Now that is a mark of a true Philadelphia artist.
West Philly born and raised with a slosh of Brooklyn, Big Rube partnered with Mitchell & Ness in 2000 to help make it a global brand marketing and selling high-end throwback jerseys. He has been photographing Philly since 2009, including in a Daily News Column from 2011 to 2017. He’s also a chef, operating Chef Big Rube’s Kitchen seven days a week at Pitcher’s Pub in Manayunk, selling the best handmade food in a Main Street dive bar.
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