FOR THE LOVE OF ART: Olvi Glass Centers Passion Over Profit
local artist Nora Phillips shatters expectations set on working artists by taking it slow and purposeful
Reflecting her light into the Eau Claire community, stained glass artist Nora Phillips – artistically known as Olvi Glass – continues to sharpen her skills while working a day job, finding inspiration anywhere she can.
“Throughout my whole life I have taken pictures of the beautiful sunlight coming through on a wall,” Phillips said. “I like to think about how a piece I make might add to it, and add to the refraction of the light on the wall.”
Hailing from Chippewa Falls, Phillips has been working with stained glass for 10 years. For Phillips, it's more of a natural talent. After all, it runs in the family.
“My aunt has been doing it for most of her life. She does a lot of work with churches and hospitals and big, big projects, so she is the best of the best. I absolutely adore her work and she was gracious enough to teach me, so that's what started it.”
Beyond what her aunt was able to teach her, Phillips has learned new techniques through trial and error along with some YouTube videos and the occasional class to hone her craft.
Phillips keeps the love for her craft alive by limiting commissions and selling her art exclusively at one annual pop-up. Working with stained glass can be a slow, tedious, and sometimes dangerous process. The quality and process of the art is of utmost importance to Phillips so doesn’t end up feeling like she's churning out pieces in a factory.
Starting from a doodle, each of her pieces is born from her unique ability to see art in the mundane, from bar windows to the prismatic colors of a rainbow. Phillips freely follows sparks of inspiration.
“I’m not a machine, so I end up doing a little pop-up shop,” Phillips said. “It’s hard to please people; somebody might have a certain expectation in their mind and I found it too tough to live up to, and it takes the fun out of it for me.”
Though she doesn't often work with the profitableness of the end product in mind, she has created a loyal following in Eau Claire, perhaps initially due to her glass pieces inspired by The Joynt. These works are a small version of the iconic stained glass windows that sit in watch over jovial weekend crowds and regulars of the downtown mainstay.
"The Joynt window(s) started because I wanted to do it for myself and then it just took off like wildfire," Phillips said. "I got Bill's (the original artist behind The Joynt's windows) blessing and started making a few more."
Working as a Montessori assistant, Phillips does her stained glass work for the passion of it. Over the years her personal vintage glass collection has grown, from Craigslist to the collections of retired glaziers, so she has plenty of material for her own crafting.
Starting from a doodle, each of her pieces is born from her unique ability to see art in the mundane, from bar windows to the prismatic colors of a rainbow. Phillips freely follows her spark of inspiration.
One result of that innate creativity are Olvi Glass's "bolo flies" – an eccentric fly-shaped glass piece that sits on the charm of a bolo tie. Inspired by a house fly zipping around before dying on her workbench – "The wings were perfectly intact and it still had its iridescent butt," she called – the years-ago happening led to a unique piece of art.
Though Olvi Glass rarely pops up in town, when the artist does, you won't want to miss out on whatever new eye-catching – and light-catching – work she has crafted.
Keep up with the artist on Instagram (@olviglass) to find out when their next pop-up is announced and commissions are reopened.
