Arrowmont Craft Conversations: Zeke Leonard

ARROWMONT CRAFT CONVERSATIONS is a video series that highlights artists in the Arrowmont community. Our partnership with Arrowmont faculty and community members has contributed to Arrowmont’s longevity, growth as a school of arts and crafts, and our reputation as an institution that welcomes everyone. The artists who appear in this series exemplify the characteristics that represent the School — they span generations and are among the most experienced, capable, and innovative in the arts and crafts world.

Each of the artists in this series offers insights into their work and their reflections on being a part of the Arrowmont community. Today, we feature Zeke Leonard – Arrowmont instructor and craftsman who creates furniture and instruments from ‘trash’ wood.

Zeke Leonard is an assis­tant profes­sor in the Syra­cuse Univer­sity School of Design, member of the Envi­ron­men­tal and Inte­rior Design faculty, and coor­di­na­tor of the School of Design’s First Year Expe­ri­ence. His research involves the role social respon­si­bil­ity and envi­ron­men­tal stew­ard­ship can play in contex­tu­ally-rele­vant design and fabri­ca­tion prac­tices. Zeke regu­larly part­ners with commu­nity groups and orga­ni­za­tions to find ways to put local resources to better use. He previ­ously taught at RISD and NYU, and is a regular visit­ing instruc­tor at insti­tu­tions includ­ing the Haystack Moun­tain School of Crafts and the Arrow­mont School of Arts and Crafts. Zeke holds an MFA in furni­ture design from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA in set design from the Univer­sity of North Carolina School of the Arts.