Judith Serling-Sturm was a freelance essayist without a fine arts background when she  apprenticed to a hand book binder whose specialty was exposed bindings. She was instantly  captivated by the textures of the art form, and identified with the way that exposed bindings  elevate the efforts and magnifies the honor and beauty of “keeping it together”. In her work,  which assumes both traditional and non-traditional forms, binding technique, structure,  materials, and content are equal players in the communication of an idea.  

Serling-Sturm’s artist books are exhibited in shows around the country. Her work often  addresses issues of social justice and the natural world. Her artist books are in the permanent  collection of the Cincinnati Public Library, University of Cincinnati Women’s Center, and Xavier  University. As Serling-Sturm continues to experiment with new and untraditional materials her  work finds new expression in the more well known art forms of wall art and sculpture.  

Serling-Sturm accepts commissions and sells her work from her studio at the Pendleton Art  Center in Cincinnati. She teaches binding techniques to all ages and has been a visiting artist  in classrooms up and down the east coast. She created the book arts curriculum for the  Washington DC Waldorf School and taught in their high school and led workshops at the DC  Children’s Museum and the Museum for Women in the Arts. Serling-Sturm is a board member  and former president of the Cincinnati Book Arts Society and a participating artist in the Taft  Museum’s Artist Reading Classrooms (ARC) program.