Coffee @ 10 with Scott Leipski (Online)

Scott A. Leipski, ceramicist, works with press-molded, slab, and coil-built forms A passionate and curious creator since childhood, Leipski worked in multiple mediums for years before devoting himself to ceramics.

Born at Fort Hood, Texas, while his father was serving in the Army, Leipski spent the majority of his childhood seven miles outside of Tomahawk, Wisconsin, in the woods on  a lake. After high school he lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the majority of his adult life before moving to Evanston and South Beloit, Illinois for work. Leipski worked in retail management for nearly 30 years. During his retail career he managed everything from small boutiques to mass merchandisers. It was not unusual for him to put in 40 to 60+ hours per week.  Working nights, weekends and holidays was the norm for many years. After giving his all to earn those businesses profits, Leipski eventually dreaded going to work each day.  By 2014, at age 49, with the support of those who believed in him, Leipski had quit his job, ready for the sacrifices and challenges of being a full-time artist, a lifelong dream. He sold his house, left the city, and set up his studio in Gladstone, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. With beautiful views of Lake Michigan and the quiet of a small town, Gladstone afforded him the focus to find his artist voice.

In the years since, Leipski’s compulsion to create, the joy of this work and the discipline learned from years of retail management, has kept him driven and focused—not only to produce but to innovate.  For him, inspiration comes from doing the work. Primarily a self-taught artist, Leipski learned as he went, navigating practical matters like how to fire a kiln as well as artistic choices, with many hard lessons; he views failure as part of what has led to his successes. A storyteller at heart, his works often contain some element of the surreal; Leipski loves creating beautiful or evocative art that can inspire conversations or mutual reminiscences of different pasts.