There were more than 1,000 entries, but only 50 books and 50 covers were awarded by the American Institute of Graphic Arts. “Dutch Journal,” a book by Malcolm Cochran, a professor of art at Ohio State, was one of them.Cochran grew up in New Hampshire and attended Westland University in Connecticut. He went to graduate school at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, and came to OSU in 1987 as a visiting artist.Cochran said as an undergraduate student he thought he would be a writer. He had worked as an editor. It was in graduate school where he became interested in ceramics.”My father was a painter, so art was in the family,” Cochran said.Cochran now teaches courses in sculpture and foundations in art. Matt Davidson, a senior majoring in sculpture, said Cochran is great for the art department.”He puts in a lot of time and effort,” Davidson said. “He has given me a lot of direction and helped me focus.”Randi Channel, a senior majoring in sculpture, said Cochran is the best professor she’s had at OSU.”He is knowledgeable about his subject matter,” Channel said. “He really listens to the students and his feedback is always beneficial.”Channel said that Cochran’s work is skillful and raw.”It deals with raw materials more than anything else,” Channel said.Cochran was teaching in the Netherlands on an exchange arrangement between OSU and an art academy in Tilburg in 1993.”Dutch Journal” is a travel diary responding to the things he saw and experienced during his trip.”I got the idea for the book because I had done a number of large-scale projects that were never documented,” Cochran said.While exploring the land on his four-month visit, Cochran developed the ideas for his book.The book is about images of inspiration Cochran said. It focuses on four works that he developed while abroad.One of the works, “Fifteen Trees,” is a short black and white film focusing on spiky evergreen trees planted in front of post-war neighborhoods. “Dutch Shoes” is a collection of 240 pairs of wooden shoes. The shoes are now in the Robert J. Shiffler Collection and Archive in Greenville, Ohio. “Spaanse Kraag” is a 3,000-meter long Spanish collar supported by a structure of steel rings and lattice-like wood slats. “Baby Tubs” is a collection of 10 baby tubs in various colors.”(The book) is a documentation of the exhibits and how the ideas for them developed,” Cochran said.As part of an honor from the American Institute of graphic Arts, Cochran’s book will be in a one-year traveling exhibition that will visit museums, galleries and universities around the country. His exhibits have been displayed at a number of museums including the Columbus Museum of Art.