BOOK ARTS

I made my first photobook in the summer of 1989, while studying photography at RISD as a rising junior in college. For a documentary class, I spent the summer photographing autistic children at a center in Providence. For my final project, I created a handmade book in which form and content merged—a tactile, low-tech object with hand-written text and tipped-in silver gelatin prints. Over the decades, the book has traveled with me, unseen and nearly forgotten—until recently. In a twist I could never have imagined, my daughter, who now models for much of my work, works full-time with autistic children.

I’ve continued to explore the book as an artistic form. Two years in the making, this past summer I completed my first limited-edition fine art book for my newly finished Tu Ke Bivas portfolio. The final touch—a custom slipcover—is currently in production and will be photographed soon.

Tu Ke Bivas Artist Book

Created: Summer 2025
Measurements: 9 x 12 x 1.5 inches

Limited Edition artist book

Tu Ke Bivas Artist Book - Before & After

Before : A Mock Up

In the summer of 2022, two years before the book was made, I started experimenting with the book form. A workshop, The Handmade Artist’s Book: Envisioning Form & Content with Susan kae Grant at Santa Fe Workshops in Santa Fe, NM helped me begin to envision the book even before the images were completed.

After: A Prospectus to the Book

Created: Summer 2025

Weeks after completing the artist book, I realized that I needed to make a prospectus. Designed as a pamphlet and incorporating one gatefold page, it mimics the feel and look of the book.

Handmade Books: Fundamentals of Bookbinding

Books Created: Summer 2022
Measurements:

Experimenting with the book form, signatures and stitching with Erin Fletcher at the North Bennet Street School, Boston, MA.

Seeing You, Seeing Me Accordion Book

Created: Winter 2022
Measurement:

Seeing You, Seeing Me is a portfolio of portraits and still lifes inspired by Vermeer. For this accordion book, I have taken the still lifes and sequenced them to tell their own story. (More about the portfolio and complete set of images can be found in my portfolio tab.)

Today I’m Gonna Have a Good Day:
A Day at the Groden Center, Providence, Rhode Island

Created: Summer 1989
Measurements:
Marbleized Paper with matching slipcover encase the story of several autistic children.