When art student Sarah Muehlbauer began work last spring on a wax-paper dress in an experimental textile class at UW-Madison, little did she know it would end up at the Smithsonian — and earn her a $20,000 cash prize.

Now 24 and a graduate student at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia, Muehlbauer received the grand prize in Green Light, sponsored by VSA arts for people with disabilities ages 16 to 25. Muehlbauer has severe Crohn's, an inflammatory disease of the digestive tract that can cause chronic pain, fatigue and other symptoms that "substantially limit one or more major life activities," which is partly how both VSA arts and the American With Disabilities Act define a disability.

Muehlbauer's winning entry, "Rustle," is a five-minute video of the artist wearing a translucent, full-length gown she constructed from finely stitched circles of waxed paper. Set against a soundtrack drawn from compositions by the deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie, Muehlbauer's lean figure makes subtle stirrings in the garment, which becomes its own enigmatic percussive instrument, swishing and crackling with each movement.

"Rustle" eloquently contrasts the fragility and strength of the human body while using a material, wax paper, that shares those same attributes, says Soula Antoniou, national president of VSA arts. The video works on many levels, not only artistically and emotionally, but also philosophically, says Antoniou. "And the dress is phenomenal."

Muehlbauer, who grew up in West Bend, learned sewing and other "invaluable" needleworking skills from her mother. "While I was an undergrad, I actually spent a lot of time painting and making videos," she says. Then she met Madison fiber artist Jaroslava Sobiskova. "I volunteered my hand in her studio, and she taught me how to do wet-felting techniques, which is really what got me back into fiber arts in the past couple of years. It was really a jumping-off point for me."

Muehlbauer and 14 other honorees will be feted today at a Capitol Hill reception, and their work showcased at the Smithsonian's S. Dillon Ripley Center on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., through Jan. 4, followed by a two-year tour of college campuses. An excerpt of her video is posted at

Muehlbauer was diagnosed with Crohn's her sophomore year of college, the year she moved her major from the apparel design program to the art department, which awarded her a Bachelor of Fine Arts  in May. Though she must deal with chronic pain, "It's something that you get used to and you have to go on with your life anyway," she says. "So that's what I'm doing."

She plans to use her prize money to buy art supplies and her own video equipment. "I'm interested in using recycled materials and under-utilized materials for conceptual art purposes," she says. But when it comes to future career plans, "I'm leaving it open for now."