Blugolds bring aquatic life to the community with stained glass art installed at bus stop

EAU CLAIRE — For three University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire art students and one art professor, creating public art is a learning experience.

Professor of Art Jyl Kelley designed a mosaic that has been recently installed at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The mosaic, fabricated by students Theron Christiansen, Erin Phelps, and Anmarie “Rie” Roos, was showcased in a standalone photo in the Thursday, Oct. 3 edition of the Leader-Telegram.

“It’s been really big for me because this is the first time that I have done any sort of public art,” said Roos, who is now a graphic communications alum from UW-Eau Claire.

Continuing from that statement, Kelley said, “We learned stuff that you would never think of if you didn’t do this type of thing, like the legality of it and the liability of it. Who owns the artwork when you are done making it?”

Kelley said in this case, the mosaic will belong to the city. The project itself was sponsored by the Eau Claire Transit Authority, the City of Eau Claire, the UW-Eau Claire Student Office of Sustainability, the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and the Department of Art and Design, while approval had to be granted from groups like the Eau Claire City Council as the artwork sits on city property.

But the finalized aquatic-based work and public installation has been a long time coming, as Kelley and the students started their stained glass mosaic journey last November.

The team focused on negotiation and grant writing early on in the project, while the past summer involved the fabrication process of the mosaic.

“Of course, we learned exactly how to put the glass together, how to cut all the pieces and everything,” said Roos. “Jyl tested various different glues to see how they reacted to the environment, so we could pick one that wouldn’t mess with the glass when it was in there for a while. Some of the glues turned yellow or got really bubbly, so it was good to avoid those.”

Students focused on a design created by Kelley and based on the aquatic life of the Chippewa River, where some of the plants and fish included are endangered. But even in following a design, Kelley said there was still a creative element for the students to explore.

“We have to figure out how to create movement in glass,” she said. “They know what the design is, but they have to take all of these little tesserae and figure out how to put them next to each other and create linear movement from one panel to the next and keep continuity?... I think all of that design work and even shifting colors was huge and something that students had to figure out and make decisions creatively about how that was going to work.”

Students also had to focus on working with the metal and glue, while Kelley and the team accounted for space needed in the frame for the panels to expand and contract.

But with the piece complete and on display, the only thing to wait for now is the installation of a bench that will prevent a portion of the mosaic from being covered. Aside from that, UW-Eau Claire students, faculty and community members can now walk past it as they pass the Haas Fine Arts Center while heading down Water St.

For Roos, it is partially a relief to be able to sit back and see the result of a project that has taken nearly a year to complete.

“I feel kind of proud that it’s out there for people to look at,” said Roos. “We’ve already gotten a ton of comments from people who are walking by us when we are installing it.”

“I personally feel like it is a gift to our community,” said Kelley. “It’s like, let’s make this gem or this beautiful little place where anyone can come. And I think Eau Claire opens its arms to things like that.”

To celebrate the installation of the mosaic, a reception is scheduled at the bus stop structure from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 7.