David & Melanie Leppla
"After many years of working in glass my interest in a sense of frozen motion or time continues to run as a theme through most of the series that I have created. "
Inspired by the ability of glass to seemingly freeze time, David Leppla creates pieces that explore these possibilities. In his Undersea Series, Leppla explores the flowing and ebbing motion of undersea life. Vivid colors and brilliant flashes of light play with the buoyant sense of weightlessness and beauty in the world under the waves. Tropical fish seemingly swim through the glass, caught in a moment between worlds
In his Safari Series, Leppla creates a unique variation of the classic Italian encalmo technique, in which the artist joins two very distinctly different patterns and surfaces together. A very dense bold top gives way to a softened base of ambers and golds that plays joyfully with the light coming through. Leppla has been blowing glass for over 25 years and incorporates multiple traditional glass techniques into the creation of each piece.
The artist received his BS in Visual Art from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and his MFA in Glass from Kent State University. Professional awards include a Fulbright Award to Sweden, a Creative Glass Center of America Fellowship, and two New Jersey Council for the Arts Awards (including the distinguished artist award). Museum Collections of his work inculde the Renwick Gallery (Smithsonian), New Orleans Museum of Art, Museum of American Glass, and the Musee Des Artes Decoratif (Lausanne).
Inspired by the ability of glass to seemingly freeze time, David Leppla creates pieces that explore these possibilities. In his Undersea Series, Leppla explores the flowing and ebbing motion of undersea life. Vivid colors and brilliant flashes of light play with the buoyant sense of weightlessness and beauty in the world under the waves. Tropical fish seemingly swim through the glass, caught in a moment between worlds
In his Safari Series, Leppla creates a unique variation of the classic Italian encalmo technique, in which the artist joins two very distinctly different patterns and surfaces together. A very dense bold top gives way to a softened base of ambers and golds that plays joyfully with the light coming through. Leppla has been blowing glass for over 25 years and incorporates multiple traditional glass techniques into the creation of each piece.
The artist received his BS in Visual Art from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and his MFA in Glass from Kent State University. Professional awards include a Fulbright Award to Sweden, a Creative Glass Center of America Fellowship, and two New Jersey Council for the Arts Awards (including the distinguished artist award). Museum Collections of his work inculde the Renwick Gallery (Smithsonian), New Orleans Museum of Art, Museum of American Glass, and the Musee Des Artes Decoratif (Lausanne).
Graduating from the Rochester Institute of Technology with her BFA, Melanie Guernmsey embarked on her outstanding career in fine art glass. Melanie shows internationally as well as across the United States where she has earned honors including two fellowship grants from the Creative Glass Center of America, and a fellowship grant from the New Jersey Counsel for the Arts. Showing in the Museum of American Craft and the Museum of American Glass, she has established herself as a major artist, Melanie and her husband David work together in their studio in Vermont. DAVID & MELANIE LEPPLA GLASS
