I have done a lot of things. I promoted design firms. I helped artisans sell their work.. I toiled as a government bureaucrat. (Just to name a few….) Oh. And I had three kids. Through it all, ceramics was my side gig. Then I turned fifty and realized time was finite. Instead of relegating art to the nooks and crannies o my life, I committed to my practice full time. In 2015, I became an Associate Artist at The Clay Studio. Inn 2019, I set up my own studio in Old City Philadelphia. It has high ceilings, ancient windows, and an awkwardly placed iron column. It is ridiculously drafty in the winter and way too hot in the summer. But it is all mine and I feel wildly fortunate going to work there every day. 

Leah Kaplan has been working in clay for 30 years, honing her skills in studios and schools in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. In 2018, Leah renovated space in a converted 19th century glass factory from which she launched her full-time practice. Her eclectic career path to ceramics included promoting New York City designers, as well as safeguarding indigenous craft traditions. In the latter job, Leah was fortunate to meet gifted artisans, engaged in every conceivable medium, whose work continues to inform her own. Leah’s vessels have been shown in internationally juried shows across the United States.  

Beyond her studio practice, Leah devotes time to The Clay Studio, a national nonprofit arts organization, on whose board she serves.