Celeste Regal grew up in Newark, New Jersey during the days when gypsies told fortunes in storefronts. She wanted to be an explorer like Raleigh or Drake. Instead, the book artist received a Bachelors in Architecture at the University of Minnesota and later an MA in metalsmithing at Kean University, both with distinction.

As a volunteer at the Center for Book Arts in NYC, Regal refined her skills in bookbinding. She participated in the 20th New Jersey Book Arts Symposium at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. In 2015, she received a Puffin Foundation Grant.

Artists Statement

My work takes the place of the things I cannot do, the peace I cannot achieve in daily life. Carrack ships are long gone, disappearing with the medieval age. Sailing away is only possible metaphorically. I explore other voyages, the fates women survive in a male-dominated world. I translate the poetics of supposed female instability using the codex form as undiscovered terrain, challenging the confines of space.

Materials and narrative offer a realm where the world created by the handmade object mixes with quashed desire. Text provokes a story. While planned, the materials take on a life of their own.

I choose nontraditional applications. Bronze and copper sheet metal can be a page or a decorative element. Handmade paper treated with wax or Damar varnish become translucent palimpsests with tiny paintings. They stand in for emergence from discontent and/or horror.

I want to connect with others who suffer similarly so they do not feel abandoned.

Celeste lives in Ithaca, New York after three years in India, the first year as an artist in residence at Sheth CN College in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

She now reads history.