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Semple Press

@semplepress.bsky.social

186 followers 223 following 69 posts

Rachel Marsh: letterpress printer, writer, and designer, artists books, archive dweller, lichen enthusiast, PhD candidate at UWE and Bucks Mills (never bored) linktr.ee/semplepress

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Semple Press @semplepress.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

I’ve been learning how to make #letterpress ink from #earthpigments and laked botanicals. It’s taken some time! Now working on a concertina artist book with #woodtype and #metaltype. The earth pigments come from my garden and local beaches, & (so far) #lakepigments from onion skins and blackberries

Detail of a Letterpress print made with woodtype and metal type. Print favours shapes of letters and type overlaps over readability

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Semple Press @semplepress.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

Making a lake pigment from daffodils went pretty wild this afternoon — reminded me of sherbet lemons. Followed it up with a slow but fine grind of oak galls to make a new batch of brown drawing ink

Bright yellow foam in a plastic jug with a spoon sticking out of it

Hand operated spong coffee grinder containing finely ground oak galls

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Semple Press @semplepress.bsky.social · 10/11/2024

I made a blank book, buried the book in the woods, and am looking forward to seeing what the soil and microorganisms write in the book over the next few weeks… Maybe it will just disintegrate?

Me digging a hole to bury the book…. with jaunty hair accessory

The blank book (without covers) being buried…

The place where the book is buried in a hollow under a fallen (but still living) tree

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Semple Press @semplepress.bsky.social · 07/11/2024

This one? Very much yes

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Semple Press @semplepress.bsky.social · 28/12/2023

Found some lovely strong pigment at Peppercombe on Boxing Day. Collected some in a tub… and all over my hands, face, clothes and rucksack. Quality stuff

Hand covered in red-orange Earth pigment with red cliff in background

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Semple Press @semplepress.bsky.social · 05/12/2023

Shelfie, which will appear in the next issue of Printmaking Today. (Much more revealing than a selfie.) This meant reorganising almost all my books so now I know where everything is — hoorah! It also made me re-do my very out-of-date website which I’d put off for 18 months. Can anyone relate?

Photo of a bookshelf containing books on graphic design, print, artists books, ecocriticism and literature… amongst others

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