Stephanie Leedy
Neon artist Stephanie Leedy built her glass art and neon bending career while supporting local artists and the Kansas City art scene.
Originally from Aberdeen, South Dakota, Stephanie’s father, sculptor and art historian Jim Leedy, brought her to Kansas City when he joined the faculty at the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI).
Herself a sculpture student at KCAI, Stephanie worked closely with prominent sculptor Dale Eldred. While her undergraduate work consisted mainly of large steel sculptures, Stephanie transitioned to glass blowing in her graduate work at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. She also experimented with light art, including neon.
Returning to Kansas City in 1984, Stephanie found a neon mentor in Jewel Bolan at Atlas Sign in Kansas City, KS. After a year with Bolan, who Leedy described as the “grandfather [she] never had,” she had trouble finding work in the male-dominated neon bending community. After a short stint at a sign shop, and with used equipment and the help of her father and Bolan, Stephanie opened Downtown Neon at 116 W. 18th Street in Kansas City, MO. Soon after, Jordana Arnold joined Stephanie, making theirs the only women-owned-and-operated neon shop.