This first print in the series began as I was putting away loads of wood type after a class demo. Jumbled letters on a galley almost spelled “Empress,” a word which immediately intrigued me. As I gathered more type, other words emerged until I had the phrase FREEDOM EMPRESS OVER BARREN GOLDEN COURTS. My found object/collage approach to writing has its origins in working with erasure poetry for many years. The printing process involved running pressure plates under each sheet to purposely disrupt the impression, and layering shifted transparent color runs across Thai Kozo paper. Back in my home studio, I cut some of the prints apart and layered them vertically to further disrupt and rebuild the text.

letterpress and collage on Thai kozo paper

Rachel Simmons