Whether she is working in the studio with an occasional stray dragonfly, gardening, walking by the river, or traveling, glass artist Melanie Guernsey-Leppla finds inspiration in her observations of the intricacies of nature and her surroundings.

When something of particular interest strikes the artist, she asks herself the simple question, "what if?" and tries to discern how the qualities of the glass would work with the idea. By allowing herself the artistic liberty to try something new based on her own caprice, she often finds herself engaged in new and exciting series of work.

Melanie Guernsey-Leppla has been working professionally with glass since graduating from Rochester Institute of Technology with a BFA in 1986. Her professional career includes shows internationally as well as across the United States. Honors include two fellowship grants from The Creative Glass Center of America and a fellowship grant from the New Jersey Council for the Arts. Her work is included in the Museum of American Craft and the Museum of American Glass as well as numerous important private collections.

"My years working with glass have been a continual exploration inspired both by nature and by the vitreous material itself. "

David Leppla has been working in glass for the past 25 years. 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).