An influential educator, Goss has taught enameling at the Cleveland Institute of Art since 1989. Born in Sydney, Ohio, she received both her BFA (1978) and MFA (1982) from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. While she began her studies at Kent State in painting and drawing, Goss became interested in metals and studied enameling with Mel Someroski whose experimental approach to the medium and broad background had a profound influence on her work.

Gretchen Goss is among the leading figures in the contemporary enamels field. For the past thirty years, she has explored nature as her subject in a body of work that is both richly multifaceted and thematically cohesive. A superb craftsman, she has also extended the boundaries of her medium by constantly experimenting with new techniques and investigating inventive approaches to enameling.