While Leon Applebaum was an art student in Toledo, his dream of becoming a high school art teacher was shattered upon enrolling in his first hot glass class. Leon completely immersed himself into this newly discovered world of glass. Leon completed his BFA at the Massachusetts College of Art and then received his MA at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University.
In 1973 Leon journeyed across the Atlantic to study the enduring tradition of Swedish glass forming at the Orrefor’s Glass School.ThereLeon began to explore the Swedish style of optically thick glass that would influence the future of his work. After a year of studying and working at Boda Glass in Sweden, Leon returned to the U.S. to pursue his MFA in glass at the Rochester Institute of Technology. During this period, Leon was able to synthesize the Swedish glass techniques with his ideas of using the color spectrum and trapping air to create bubbles as a design element that continues to define his work.
Over the next 25 years Leon developed new ideas, techniques, and designs on hot glass.
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
The McDonaugh Collection of American Art – Youngstown, Ohio
Canton Art Institute – Canton, Ohio
The Patrick Lanen Art Foundation – Palm Beach, Florida
Wheaton Museum of Glass – Millville, New Jersey
Brunner Museum – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum – Washington, D.C
Corning Museum of Glass – Corning, New York
Vero Beach Museum of Art – Vero Beach, Florida