Artist takes plunge with studio

Glass countertops, doors, staircases and courtyard bridges are only the beginning of the innovative uses Leslie Rankin has found for her favorite art medium. Up to now the owner of Glassic Art has worked quietly in private homes, casinos and hotels, but this month she's breaking into retail with her own gallery and studio at 5850 Polaris Ave., Suite 700.

"I had worked hidden for years just with my designers and home builders," Rankin said.

The Las Vegas artist's first taste of fame came when she appeared on an episode of "Modern Masters," a fine arts and crafts show on Home and Garden Television. The show's producers saw her work in a profile in the "The Architect's Source Book," an elite collection of artists from all fields who are submitted by the architects who have worked with them. Rankin said she's the only Nevada resident she's ever seen in the book.

Work was never slow before the "Modern Masters" episode last June. But after the broadcast, increased demand helped Rankin realize her work shouldn't be a secret any more. First she turned to the Widmen Gallery on Industrial Road to show her smaller glass bowls, waterfalls, mirrors and room dividers, now she's taken the next logical step, opening a gallery of her own.

The new gallery is dedicated to Rankin's designer and friend Terry Cohen. They worked together as a team on a local home stocked with more than $300,000 of Rankin's art glass creations. When Cohen learned the glass artist was planning on painting her new gallery burgundy, he intervened.

"He said, I know you hate gray, but then he brought out these gray fabrics and put a piece of Murano glass on top and it was amazing," Rankin said.

Cohen convinced the artist to paint the whole place gray, install gray carpet and even tint the ceiling tiles gray. Now that the gallery is complete Rankin agrees, Cohen was right. The neutral shade brings out the colors of the glass and makes a fantastic canvas for the rainbow slivers the light makes as it shines through pieces.

The new gallery with a studio was a big step for the glass artist and her crew of subcontractors. Before the studio opened they'd been working both on sites and out of the multi-car garage at Rankin's Northwest Las Vegas home. Now they have room to spread out and grow.

The studio was built to Rankin's specifications. One room is dedicated to the sandblasting equipment they use to etch deep pattern lines into the back of glass panels. Broad tables provide space to assemble stain glass creations. Another area is used to apply permanent paint for the process Rankin calls Glassic Art.

This self-mixed paint is what makes Glassic Art unique. As Rankin explains, glass and paint don't usually go together. The paint will usually peel or fade over time. After years of trail and error, she finally came up with a paint application process that sticks -- for good.

To test each batch she would paint a tile of glass and then toss it out into the desert behind her home for a few months. She still displays the first tile she painted that came out of the testing process free of fading. Since Rankin doesn't have to put her painted glass pieces in a kiln, she can make them as large as she wants. That means she can make huge pieces like countertops, room dividers, one piece front entry doors or shower doors.

Rankin's love for art began early. She was a stubborn child who refused to believe she couldn't make a living as an artist.

"My whole family did this drug intervention type thing, except instead of drugs it was `Don't do art,' " she said.

She's hoping to speak to young artists in the Clark County School District to reassure them art can be a viable career choice.

"I want to tell them to 'do what's in your heart and you will be successful.' Whether their dreams are painting, writing or photography, I want them to think outside the box."

So far she's found a few kids who are half way there. In fact, Rankin's favorite piece in her new shop isn't even one of her own. It's a pastel work created by a 9-year-old girl.

"I consider it the heart of my business," she said pointing to the pink heart framed in her office.

Rankin hopes more kids can do what she did. Even after her family's anti-art intervention, she went to the University of Utah and earned an art degree with an emphasis in metal and wood. Rankin said the two years of study in architecture as part of that degree have helped her to work with, not against architect's designs.

Rankin's skill is on display in hotels, casinos and the homes of Las Vegas' rich and famous. Smaller designs begin at only a few thousand dollars. Many of Rankin's bowls and glass cubes sold in her gallery begin at $200 or $300. She's hoping to add a few "impulse buy" items for $100 or less.

"I want to appeal to everybody," she said.

Although the gallery is open to the public, Rankin said it's best to schedule an appointment. The gallery number is 658-7588. Many of Rankin's more elaborate works can be seen on her website at www.glassicart.com.


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