"The hand-made book, a highly personal and intricate art form, offers the perfect vehicle to express contrasts between hard, (protective outer shells), and soft, (ideas and images,).  After receiving an MFA in Studio Art from Michigan State University in 1980, with a specialization in Metalsmithing & Fiber Arts, I began an exploration of the hand-made book, which continues to this day, providing unlimited technical and artistic challenges. As a mixed media artist, the book for me might be a box form encompassing memories; a jeweled brooch holding a soft, miniature silk pillow; or Polaroid transfer prints bound into accordion-folded books representing images of Santa Fe, in homage to the iconic artist, Georgia O’Keeffe.

Beginning in Port Huron, Michigan, at the K-12 level, I have taught at various academic institutions in Minnesota, Missouri, Connecticut, Maryland, and, for the past 16 years, as Professor of Art & Design at La Roche College in Pittsburgh, PA.  I moved “home” to my family’s cabin on the Straits of Mackinac in May, 2008.  Currently, I am an Adjunct Professor at North Central Michigan College; and I teach workshops in the Book Arts through Northwestern Michigan College, the Crooked Tree Arts Center, and in North Central Michigan’s off-campus program at the Cheboygan Library.

Hand-made books have allowed me to explore variations of two-dimensional art: drawing, printmaking, photography, while at the same time, to create three-dimensional art forms using heavy board, metal, or acrylic sheet.  I love the opportunity to play with words and images or silken threads and metal wire.  All of my books are one-of-a-kind and exceptionally labor intensive, so that working on them allows an escape from the practical world…almost like escaping into a book!"

Rosemary E. Gould, MFA