Today we’d like to introduce you to Olive Glass.
Olive, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up in rural farming communities in Utah. It’s an incredible place to live as a child- lots of space to run around and a beautiful landscape to inspire your imagination. As a teenager, I left home and began working full-time as an artist. It was a bumpy road- literally. I traveled around the country with friends and sold artwork out of a little red suitcase. Eventually, this led me to Portland, Oregon. I saw Portland as the holy grail for artists. I became a living statue on weekends, joined a burlesque troupe, began modeling for local artists of all varieties, and continued painting- among other artistic, strange side gigs. I worked a lot, and slowly, my modeling began to take off. I had never thought of myself as attractive, so being a sought-after art model in America sort of blew my mind. I decided to chase this dream, and moved to NYC with my best friend, Annie Montgomery. We were both models and moved to NYC with big dreams, no money, and absolutely no idea how to get around on the subways. We learned. I ended up staying for three years and loving it. I moved away when my mom developed cancer. I moved home to take care of her. Fortunately, She went into remission, and I moved to Portland, where I began dating a strong man of the local circus. Eventually, I began working with this circus, traveling all over the west coast, helping behind the scenes- and sometimes on stage too! It was delightful, running away with the circus. But it was also incredibly challenging- all the travel, the low pay, the constant parties- so, once again, I left Portland for a bigger city. I moved to Hollywood! Once in Hollywood, I began working as an adult actress. This was right after Trump was elected, and the work felt so empowering! Not only was I enjoying myself, but I was making a feminist statement to the world- I am an intelligent, strong woman, and I can choose what I do with my body! I felt like I was helping build a community where sex-positivity and sex workers could become normalized and celebrated. I quickly became a very well-known name in the industry and became a Penthouse Pet. It was so fun! For the first time in my life, I wasn’t struggling financially, and my life was a blur of fun photo shoots, red carpets, and travel. I would do a big fundraiser for a different new charity every month and was able to donate thousands to different causes I believed in. I would save my money and go on fabulous trips overseas- even dog sledding in the arctic! Life was a constant adventure.
This all came to a halt when my mother’s cancer came back. I immediately took all of my savings and left town, to her side. She had decided to stop her chemo and die naturally, at home. My stepfather and I took care of her day and night until she passed very early one morning. We held her hands and she passed away.
When I returned to Los Angeles from Utah, I felt different. The parties weren’t making me as happy, and the photoshoots were tiring. I desperately wanted to stay home and felt a call to develop more genuine friendships, instead of the extroverted, party type relationship I had developed prior to my mom’s death. So I left the adult industry. Soon after this, I met my boyfriend. He is an incredible partner and helped keep me sane while I transitioned from porn to and once again working as a full-time artist. I also took a weekend job as a curator and representative for a local art gallery. This period of time was beautiful- quiet, peaceful, loving, and full of art.
Cut to today. Now, I’m thriving. I am creating art, have a fully operational patreon account, and have once again began art modeling full-time. Life is a wild ride. It will throw you punches, and you just got to roll with them and find your happiness. My happiness is my partner, my cat, and my wild roller coaster of a career.
Has it been a smooth road?
I believe my main struggle has always been low self-esteem and self-doubt. I feel like self-doubt has held me back in so many ways in my life.
However, last year, I took a giant stride in the right direction, by telling myself this one simple phrase- what do YOU want?
…what do you want? Imagine your life is a movie. You’re creating this movie. How would it look? What sort of story is it? What is the main character like?
When I imagine this scenario, I think about a beautiful, unique and powerful world, where the main character is surrounded by supportive friends and loved ones and moves through the world with some serious style and bravery. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it.
Meditate on that. Meditate on what YOU want from life. Then go get it, with determination.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into your story. Tell us more about the business.
I am most known for my art modeling and my artwork! If you check out my patreon, you can learn about my artistic process. I think its really important to encourage others to explore their artistic potential, and one great way to do that is to explore my own, and document it for my patrons. I think what sets me apart is my curiosity and desire to see art in everyday life- life is beautiful, and meant to be fully lived- passionately!
For a good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
We do have so many opportunities. It’s our time, now, to pursue our own paths. one quote that always stuck out to me is ‘We are the granddaughters of the witches you weren’t able to burn.”
Women in the past had to carry their burdens quietly and submissively. If they stood out, they were shot down. We are the daughters of the women who had to hide their power- they did it for us. They did it so we could thrive where they weren’t able to. It’s our time, and our duty, to show what we are capable of.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: glassolive
- Other: http://www.patreon.com/glassolive
Image Credit:
myself, Ed Ross
models: King Klio and Arissa LeBrock
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