Grey Paper Press
Grey Paper Press, est. 2021, is the imprint under which Jen Ouson publishes artists books and zines.
Often exploring memory and placemaking through paper, to preserve and share something intimate and fleeting, with a real joy in embracing the flaws. Grey Paper Press is an attempt at archiving, and a very tactile means of holding on to . . .
Once We Were New (2025)
Collected words that the artists youngest daughter mispronounced and that have been adopted into family vocabulary. Made as an act of remembrance (to berember). A poem that narrates the child/parent relationship is woven through the pages.
Concertina artists book. Lino cut and rubber stamped using Tsukineko VersaFine ink on 250gsm Daler-Rowney mixed media paper, with Daler-Rowney 45gsm layout paper inserts and Linen thread. 40cm x 14cm. Edition of 8.
£35
Ardnamurchan Peninsula ( June 2024: Artists Residency)
A time of solitude and silence in The Artists Bothy, Ardnamurchan, the most westerly point of the British mainland known for its remoteness, rugged landscapes and unique geology. The residency gave the uninterrupted opportunity to practice various binding skills and formats, time to consider, and the space to paint.
A Woman of Light (2024)
A poetry zine containing three black-out poems: Allegory, Naked, Smile. Reflections on ‘woman’ using pages and the original words of Jennifer Higgie from The Mirror, Revolution and Resillience: 500 Years of Women’s Self-Portraits.
Laser printed zine on recycled paper. A7.
£4
No Through Road (2024)
Using a ballpoint pen to scratch, cross out, and rework into confused narratives, intuitively working with an individual loose page taken from Walking in Britain 1. No Through Road - The AA Book of Country Walks.
£4 - Laser printed zine on copier paper. A7.
£12 - Ballpoint pen on loose book page.
When You Can’t Find the Words (2024)
Nature photographs snapped from the artists phone accompany a stream of rainbow coloured words. Presented in alphabetical order the words are just some of those that were removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary, sparking great outcry from the public, nature lovers and writers, including Margaret Atwood and Robert Macfarlane. The words were erased to ensure the dictionary remained “relevent and beneficial” by replacing many nature words with words like A for analogue, B for blog, etc…
Concertina artists book. Laser printed on cartridge paper. 9.5cm x 10cm. Edition of 11.
£15
The Turning of the Seasons (2023)
Pressed flowers dispersed across a single sheet zine and encircled by text that reads ‘with the turning of the seasons..’. The zine is folded in a way that turns in a circle as it is unfolded to be read.
Laser printed on various papers.
£7
These Memories Smell of Pears Soap (2023)
A collection of merged memories from ‘The Bungalow’, a haven of evocative scents and sounds. A sensory place of childhood safety, freedom, exploration and adventure. This little book tries to hold all of that in it, softly.
Laser printed blue text on tracing paper. Hand bound with patchwork cotton off cuts from the artists late grandmothers fabric. 5cm x 20cm.
£15
Bloom (2023)
A hydrangea book that blooms as you open it. Made with our children in mind, and the joy in watching them grow, bloom and unfurl.
Corner bound with ribbon. Laser printed on semi opaque tracing paper with torn edges. 9cm x 9cm.
£20
Grasses (2023)
Grasses is a response to the time spent in the bothy at Biggar. The book mirrors the view from the bothy window where layer upon layer of receding grasses took up the frame. Sprinkled through the pages are phonetically transcribed bird calls and the sound of a passing rain shower.
Laser printed on tracing paper. Stitch binding with green thread. Paper book trimmings as grasses. 9cm x 27cm.
£30
The Bothy, Biggar. South Lanarkshire. (2022: Self Initiated Residency)
Sitting not far from the small town of Biggar, South Lanarkshire, The Bothy is secluded and much like a small secret.
This self initiated weeks residency was a time for isolation, a time to limit interference from the daily noise, in order to focus in on being aware and in nature. The intention was to respond to the location through an artists book.
No electricity, no phone, and a wood stove for all heating and cooking bring ‘the now’ into sharp (physical) focus, allowing the opportunity to sense the moments, sounds, smells and needs of the present. Birdcalls, rainfall, and the wind through the grasses.
Piece / Work (2021)
This Artist Edition was a collaborative project run by HolliWoodsSW, with a limited edition pot Cut on Fold designed by artist Hayley Nodzak and accompanying artists’ book Piece / Work by Jen Ouson at Grey Paper Press.
Piece / Work is both a documentation of the Cut on Fold and a visual exploration of the ideas that emerging conversations resulting from the collaboration, including the nature of ‘work’, accuracy, and acceptable inaccuracy.
Each page is loose, with images of the wood offcuts left by HolliWoodsSW from making the pot photocopied onto the pages. Each page then has a small shape cut out to create a window to the pages beneath.
The small cut out shape is taken from Hayley Nodzaks’ design for Cut on Fold. Each cut out is traced from the previous page, resulting in intentional slight ‘errors’ and a gradual reduction in size as the pages progress, essentially creating an internal vessel within the book.
Placement and arrangement also played an obviously important role in the work and the books reflect that. The interactive nature asks the reader to consider the selection and placement of the loose pages. The reader is able to manipulate the reading and create their own narrative of changing compositions.
The book comes with an accompanying pagination layout, should the reader wish to return the pages to their original order.
The Blue of Silence (2021)
A zine made for Glasgow Zine Fest 21. The zine is a poem and shadow images reflection on isolation, quarantine and caring for plants during the covid19 pandemic.
Through All This (2021)
A single page tri-fold zine made for Glasgow Zine Fest 21. The zine is one of two poem zines reflecting on isolation, quarantine and caring for plants during the covid19 pandemic.