Artist fulfills dream of remote cabin hideaway

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Parkie Gleason dreamed for years of a remote hideaway where he could freely indulge and cultivate his talent for creating stained glass art. Once he convinced his wife Paula that living away from town wouldn't be a problem, the couple began to search for the perfect location.|ret||ret||tab|

They started the quest in earnest about 1995 and a cabin they liked finally turned up in Webster County, near Niangua. While they were still deciding on the 80-acre property, it went off the market. Fortunately, it became available again the following year and the couple bought it.|ret||ret||tab|

The move to the dream retreat was gradual while they continued to reside in their building at Campbell and McDaniel, where Parkie operates his business and Paula sells antiques as a sideline to her job as director of traffic safety at the Safety Council of the Ozarks.|ret||ret||tab|

The original log cabin was a single room structure 2O-feet-by-30-feet with a fireplace. It had no amenities. Gleason has no idea how long ago it was built, but surmises that it originally was used as a hunter's cabin. At some point the roof was raised and a loft bedroom and screened-in porch added. Later the cabin itself was enlarged and a kitchen and a bathroom were installed.|ret||ret||tab|

Since moving into the cabin, the Gleasons have added a few personal touches to the property, but time and other commitments have made the transition a slow one. Gleason does most of the work himself, dividing his time between home and business in addition to commuting two hours each day. |ret||ret||tab|

Parkie's first addition to the cabin was a deck with a gazebo at one end. The gazebo features a spiraled roof with stained glass insets and a handmade weather vane given to them by a friend.|ret||ret||tab|

Eventually Gleason will build additional living space on one side of the cabin and incorporate more stained glass. For now, though, his primary goal is to install his workshop on the property. He has chosen a knoll overlooking one of the three ponds for the 2000-square-foot studio, with a front porch that affords the couple a beautiful view.|ret||ret||tab|

The couple call the property "The Farm." Paula said. "We always call it the farm, although we've only got one dog."|ret||ret||tab|

Gleason's work is in much demand nationwide and in other countries as well. Among his more noted creations is the opulent stained-glass dome in Hoolihan's Restaurant in New York City's Empire State Building, a work he describes as "Very fancy. Edwardian. Highly detailed with a lot of jewels. That kind of stuff." |ret||ret||tab|

He has also done over 800 windows for Big Cedar Lodge near Branson, the brainchild of developer and sportsman Johnny Morris. "They're in every cabin and every nook 'n' cranny you can imagine," said Gleason. He also has windows in Morris Bass Pro stores in Springfield, Grapevine, Texas, and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as well as work for Disney World and projects in Greece, Saudi Arabia, Haiti, and other countries.|ret||ret||tab|

A modest man with a whimsical sense of humor, he usually reacts to praise with a softly spoken, "Hey, I'm just a mechanic."|ret||ret||tab|

Gleason's work leaves him little discretionary time to devote to his pet project, but once he actually moves his studio to the farm, he'll be able to work in solitude and create some "genuine art work" in stained glass, he said.|ret||ret||tab|

He has made several sketches of his proposed additions to the cabin, but to date doesn't have a final draft. He sometimes hesitates to share his ideas with Paula. "I'm afraid to consult, but I do," he said. "We usually end up with a compromise."|ret||ret||tab|

Though skeptical at first about the long drive to Springfield, Paula has grown to appreciate the peaceful isolation as much as Parkie. They encourage birds and wild turkeys to visit by feeding them regularly, and deer come right up to the doors and windows.|ret||ret||tab|

Paula does not help with the construction but views her role in its evolution as supportive. Her and her husband's tastes are very compatible, she said, which makes it easy to strike an agreement on improvements. "We both like so many different types of things."|ret||ret||tab|

In the cabin's interior, Paula plans to mix modern art deco with some of her favorite antiques to blend with the rustic atmosphere. Since the cabin is too remote to attract retail traffic, she will have to sell off the remainder of the antiques.|ret||ret||tab|

Once the building in Springfield has sold and the couple moves to the farm, Gleason will shift his focus to the stained glass projects that most interest him. After the remodeling is complete, he plans to spend the time he isn't in the studio on his porch counting wild turkey and, he says, "speculating on how many catfish inhabit the pond."|ret||ret||tab|

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