NANCY BOEVINGLOH
By James Kearney
Combleux, France
If there is one word to describe Nancy Boevingloh of
Park Hills, Missouri (60 miles south of St. Louis), it's
unconventional. Her views on life and her designs are
unconventional as you can see from her unique website
www.missourijewel.com . She makes many things with
stained glass including art sculptures, jewelryeidoscopes, stained glass panels and lampshades - all of her own designs. Her website was launched in December, 2008, culminating in a year of 80 hour weeks to create the pieces that would fill the website pages. She sells her products in her store, via her website and on eBay as 'Missourijewel'. She generously provides links on her website to others who are selling items on eBay that she finds interesting.
Her unconventionality is amply expressed when she says "I like anything that is outside the norm. I love doing five panel shades or building a spiked vase cap, or using moon faces on the center of a Frank Lloyd Wright lampshade...If I can see it in my mind then I can do it. My latest efforts have been with vintage, 20th century jewelry lampshades." She goes on to say that "I once read a book about how the brain is 'analytical' on one side and 'emotional' on the other side. So, for years, I've held with the belief that if one designs a piece that is both 'Frank Lloyd Wright' AND 'Louis C. Tiffany' in style, then it would have to appeal to ALL people, or 'both' sides of the brain. I picture in my mind a classic Tiffany scene such as a trellis of Tiffany style leaves and flowers integrated with the severe lines of Wright".
Nancy has some unconventional sales techniques as well like when she learned that her county's largest construction company owner was a huge fan of the Florida Gators. She immediately designed a Gator in stained glass. A few weeks before Father's Day, she called the owner's wife and said, "If you haven't bought a Father's Day present for your girls to give to your husband yet, I happen to have a large stained glass Florida Gator panel that was made especially for you." The man's wife came right down and bought it on the spot.
Nancy's first contact with stained glass, like many of us, was her church's stained glass windows. However, they didn't spark an interest in working with glass. About 20 years ago she wandered into a small store where the owner was working on a stained glass panel. The owner invited Nancy to try her hand at cutting a piece of glass. The second she picked up the cutter, she knew this was what she wanted to do the rest of her life. At first, her financial resources were limited, so it took six months before she could afford to buy a grinder but when she did, she spent the first night grinding everything in sight. However, the absence of a grinder in those early months helped her develop her glass cutting skills. In those days, she lived in an apartment with small windows so it wasn't long before she filled all those windows with stained glass panels. Once they were filled she turned her attention to lampshades.
Nancy says she never had class training, and never reads instruction manuals. She can read a novel quickly, but finds it difficult to follow instructions in training manuals. She learns from watching other people, studying their work and then practicing at home. Nancy has taught hundreds of people over the years in the same manner she likes to learn, via demonstration. Her only art training was an art appreciation training in high school in which she learned about primary and secondary colors. She finds it ironic that her sense of color is her greatest strength.
Nancy has a technique she calls "continuous flow" in which she cuts the background glass in a manner to maintain the flow of the natural pattern in the background glass. She lays the background glass on top of the pattern and draws it out, so that each piece lines up with the one next to it on all sides. Cutting the background in this way, without ever using a ring saw, can be very challenging and a terrific way to sharpen one's skill in cutting glass. However, it is also risky because if one piece of glass is broken, then the entire background glass is ruined. But, the effort is so worth it because it adds such depth to the piece.
As soon as she joined ASGLA she began buying the calendars and admiring the magnificent Tiffany lampshades and dreaming of the year when one of her lampshades would be featured - the absolute highest honor to which any stained glass artist could aspire. That year came in 2009 which features her 26" Clematis lampshade. She has prepared her interpretation of a 1905 Tiffany Hydrangea lampshade that she has submitted to ASGLA for the 2010 calendar selection. She makes about a half dozen lamps a year and has about a half dozen in her home at any one time although they are all available for sale. She currently is focused on her jewelryeidoscopes and art sculptures and enjoys glass fusing but her true love is working with stained glass.
As is evident, Nancy is a hard working, prolific stained glass artist who follows the beat of her own drum in her designs. We wish her continued success in all the avenues she follows in her stained glass work.
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The Association of Stained Glass Lamp Artists...
I was graciously given permission by Carol Conti, President of the Association of Stained Glass Lamp Artists to reprint the article from their NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009 issue:
Whether you're a stained glass artist, or just appreciate it's beauty, you'll want to be a part of The Association of Stained Glass Lamp Artists.
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