Leila Denecke is a potter and ceramic sculptor who has spent several years studying and living in Japan. She graduated with honors from the Tekisui Museum of Art Ceramic Art Research Institute. She was commissioned by the Sister City of Minneapolis, Ibaraki City Japan, to create a sculpture for their new central library. In St Paul, her fountain is the centerpiece of the lobby at United Hospital. She has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Louisiana State University.

One of Leila’s teapots is in the permanent collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
She has been awarded the McKnight Fellowship for Ceramic Artists three times as well as receiving the Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative grant twice.

She grew up in the St Croix Valley and now lives in Scandia, MN.