Wendy Withrow makes work that is meant to be held, moved, and used. She has a background in the traditional craft of bookbinding, having earned a diploma from the North Bennet Street School in Boston, Massachusetts. For the past 13 years she has operated under the name Windy Weather Bindery, creating highly custom books and boxes for private clients. Over the last year she worked to design a line of hand-painted, sustainable notebooks made from recycled cereal boxes and inspired by her kids and the natural world.
Withrow also makes conceptual artist books for exhibition. Her artist books ask to be held, to sit with the viewer for a moment. Themes she comes back to often in her work are the impermanence of time, relationships in space, and human connection. Withrow loves working in the discipline of artist books because it requires thought and planning in advance, but also allows for an intuitive approach along the way. She has exhibited her work nationally in numerous juried and invitational shows.
Before pursuing the book arts, Withrow studied sculptural ceramics, graduating with a BFA in ceramic art from Grand Valley State University in Michigan. She is currently in the process of setting up a clay studio with a friend and looks forward to adding a line of functional clay work to her shop in the coming year.