Boulder City artist tries something new

Imagine cooking a large meal you’ve never before attempted, and the first time you taste it is with your entire family at Thanksgiving.

In a way, that’s what Boulder City artist Lee Lanier is facing but instead of food, it’s art.

Earlier this year, Lanier’s concept was chosen by a panel brought together by the city of Las Vegas for a mosaic piece of art to be installed in Centennial Hills Park. The city had put out a request for qualifications to all artists, who in turn, sent their portfolio and concept of the project to be completed.

Here’s the catch. While Lanier has been a longtime artist and muralist, he’s never attempted to do a mosaic art piece. Lanier is living up to the saying, “Go big or go home.”

His mosaic piece depicting desert landscape, which includes Valley of Fire and Red Rock State Park, will be 30 feet wide and 12 feet tall, consisting of 27 individual panels, all of which were assembled in his garage.

“I was one of three finalists,” he said, noting they were each given a small stipend to help cover the cost of the sign. “The three of us went before a jury and pitched our ideas and in this case, I was the one who was chosen. They did have a theme, which was celebrating the outdoors and the environment.”

Last week, with help from assistants, Lanier began installing the panels at Centennial Hills Park with an unveiling set for Nov. 12. Each panel, which has a waterproof backing, weighs as much as 130 pounds. He estimates the total weight of the all the panels combined to be nearly a ton. Each panel has dozens of predrilled holes and are placed on the wall using concrete screws.

Laura Machado, public and visual arts section manager for the city of Las Vegas, said when the Centennial Hills Park restroom facility was identified as a possible site for public art, they saw a perfect opportunity to add something meaningful for the people who visit the park.

“The city’s arts commission has been excited to grow our collection of tile murals and this project was a perfect fit,” she said in an email. “After a competitive selection process, the project’s evaluation panel chose the design by Lee Lanier. His design truly captures the spirit of the project, and we’re delighted to share this new piece with the community.”

While he had specific measurements, photographs, design and a grid, Lanier said it wasn’t easy putting something that large together while creating it in sections, all while hoping the artwork flows.

“It was very challenging because I’ve only seen it two panels at a time,” he said. “It took a solid three months to construct all the panels.”

Lanier, the co-founder of the Dam Short Film Festival, has done large projects in the past for the city of Las Vegas but in the last five years, he couldn’t recall the request being specifically for a mosaic, especially since it’s being mounted to cinderblocks.

As noted, this was a first for him.

“I just love large, public art,” he said. “I always wanted to try and figure out how to do a mosaic. I’m very ambitious with my art. When I’ve done murals, I’m always wanting to go bigger and bigger to challenge myself. With this project, I just decided that I’d figure out how to do it. The biggest challenge was in the size and that I wanted to pre-make it and bring it into the site.”

According to mosaicartstudio.us, “Mosaic art is a type of artwork that employs the use of stone, glass, seashells, or ceramic tiles to make colorful pictures. All of these pieces are arranged together to tell a story and come in both abstract and figurative forms.”

On those lines, Lanier added, “One of my assistants said it’s like a giant puzzle with no reference or directions.”

In his case, he used tile, similar to what is found in a bathroom or kitchens, in a variety of colors. While some of the tiles were purchased at stores, the rest he had to order online. Each piece was broken in order to fill a space.

“There was a lot of problem-solving that I’d think about for days on end,” he said. “I’d talk myself through all the steps in my head. There were a lot of moments where I asked myself, ‘How do I solve this problem?’

“I know it’s not going to be perfect but I’m hoping the average person won’t notice the little things that I might see. Once it’s done, it’s done. I walk away knowing I did my best.”