By Lauren Emeritz
Washington DC: Abstract Orange, 2024. Edition of 20 variants.
7 x 11"; 48 pages. Letterpress printed on handmade paper. Bound in paper covered hard boards. Signed and numbered by the artist. Designed and printed by the Lauren Emeritz.
Lauren Emeritz: "Following my ‘Earth’ book, I decided to make a book about another classic element: water. I learned paper-making, a process that uses a lot of water, so the book would use water as the previous book used UV light. The primary blue text in the book follows the flow of water in nature, from raindrops to streams, to rivers, to oceans, and back to the shore. That text overlaps distorted orange type representing other negative aspects of water, such as floods, acidity, disease, and drought. The work is meant to evoke the beauty of water, problems that arise from water, and how these things shape our lives.
“The book … uses mineral spirits to dilute the orange ink, creating a painterly effect (inspired by the work of Helen Frankenthaler). The handmade paper in the book was painted with a blue paint wash. It is primarily cotton paper but uses some recycled fibers as well."