Hand Out Press was born, in the nature of DIY and community building, as a way of showing gratitude, gift giving and creative exchange.
Through Hand Out Press Jen Ouson makes zines and artists’ books that are ‘handed out’ to visitors of the AB-Z Collection and to zine workshop participants. These ‘hand-outs’ are hoped to give thanks, build solidarity, provide inspiration, and act as a tactile and interactive ‘hand out’ when working with others.
Hand Out Press
Insist | on. Disagree | with. Believe | in. (2025)
Zine created for gifting to partiipants at workshops and to demonstrate trimming and folding an 8 page mini zine
I Keep My Zine Tools in My Hair (2025)
Zine created for gifting to participants at workshops and to demonstrate quick cut and paste methods of using copyright free imagery and layering to mimic a two colour riso zine effect
Bauhaus Colour Theory - Visual Essay (2025)
A ‘hand-out’ in the form of a visual essay, using the format of the artists book, used as an example of visualising art theory and context work.
Gratitude 2 (2025)
A small single page fold out with the words Gratitude, Community, Collaboration, Support and Community printed in various fonts. A tracing paper insert sits inside each fold out with the words Share, Make, and Hold printed in various fonts.
Given as a gift to visitors to the collection.
Artists Book & Zine Pair (2024)
This duo was made as a gift to help identify and discuss similarities and differences when making and exploring creative publications, specifically zines and artists books.
The zine discusses the ‘not for profit’ ethos relevant to zine culture and quotes from Stephen Duncomde’s Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture. It is made in the 8 page mini zine format using college, hand written text, and is black and white printed on copier paper.
The artists book is a series of loose pages on various papers in gradually increasing sizes. The pages were layed out in order along a table and the reader compiles and binds the book themselves, with an elastic band. It is the choice of the reader regarding the selection and arrangement of the pages. The idea is that the book grows as the readers interaction and subsequent awareness does. The book discusses the book as art, and included quotes from Johanna Drucker’s The Century of Artists’ Books.