Grand National Fibres Exhibition



I currently have my art Remnants featured in the Grand National Fibres Exhibition. This is a textile art exhibition where 36 other artists are participating. This was a juried exhibition organized by Thelma Newbury and my art Remnants was one of the pieces selected in the Grand National Fibres Exhibition. This exhibition will be touring to four different provinces in Canada from 2024-2025.


The Grand National Fibres Exhibition is a yearly exhibition that has a different theme each year. 

2024 - 'DELIGHTS'

After the last few years it is time to have some fun.
Every one of us has pleasures in our lives.
What delights you?
What makes you happy, joyous and cheerful?
What lifts your heart?


The exhibition was juried by juried by Deb Fong, Marie E. Maltais and Judy Weiss.

Here is the exhibition statement: 

Exhibition Statement

 After these past years of cancelled trips, isolation and basically life on hold, we are ready for some fun. Every one of us has pleasures in our lives. What delights you? What makes you happy, joyous and cheerful? What lifts your heart? We asked the fibre artists of Canada to share their ‘Delights’ with us.

          

This juried exhibition consists of the works of 37 Canadian professional fibre artists from across Canada, each expressing a particular delight that has great meaning to them, resulting in a diverse range of materials, techniques, ideas, concepts, and cheerful thoughts to get us all back on the path to living, having fun and enjoying the pleasures of life once again.

Photo credit: Thelma Newbury

This Grand National Fibres Exhibition will travel across Canada being displayed at four different art galleries. 


I had to ship my artwork to the Kootenay art gallery in British Columbia by the beginning of June. When I was shipping my art I had to pack it carefully because the handmade denim paper is fragile. I also had to include installation, deinstallation and packing instructions since the art will be touring to four different art galleries. 



Grand National Fibres Exhibition Schedule:


When the exhibition concludes my art Remnants will be shipped back to my address. I am currently in the process of applying for grants to cover the cost of shipping my art across Canada to these various art exhibitions. 


To read more about my piece Remnants - you can click here. 





To learn more about the Grand National Fibres Exhibition/ textile art exhibition you can click here.



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Photo credit: Thelma Newbury

Blue Jeans Art for Your Home


Blue jeans art looks great hanging in your home. This blue jeans art adds the perfect pop of blue to your home. As an artist I love making art with blue jeans. Check out some of my blue jeans art by reading the post below! 

Blue Jeans Art 

If you have been interested in working with blue jeans and making your own art you can check out this post on how to make recycled paper with blue jeans. 


There are some expensive tools needed to make paper so it can be difficult to make blue jeans art paper. 

Blue Jeans Art - Paper 


I have created hundreds of sheets of blue jeans art paper and created an installation called Sediment  that rests on the floor. You can read more about this blue jeans paper art installation here! 



I also have created blue jeans paper art to sell - I have marbled paper that is mixed with denim and abaca that comes in different sizes you can check it out by clicking on the button below! 




I created denim moons with blue jeans art that are made with denim paper in the shape of a circle. These handmade paper moons are available in light blue or dark blue. They are created by separating the denim and sorting the blue jeans into dark blue and light blue to create different coloured pulps. 

Marbled Denim Paper
Marbled Denim Paper
CA$28.00


Using dark blue denim pulp I created a blue jeans art on a white vintage doily. This piece comes in two different sizes small and medium and would look lovely framed in white or wood. 

You can purchase one of these original artworks by clicking on the button below! 

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Paper Making with Recycled Blue Jeans

Paper making with recycled blue jeans is a time consuming process but it also a rewarding process. I love being sustainable in my art practice and using recycled blue jeans to make paper is exciting! I will show you how to make paper with recycled blue jeans in this post! I started paper making in 2015, where I was working as a teaching assistant in a paper making class during my MFA. See some behind the scenes about the process of paper making below!

How to Make Paper Out of Recycled Blue Jeans -What You Need

  • a hollander beater

  • water

  • a vat (plastic tub that is shallow)

  • mould and deckle

  • felts

  • sponge

  • jeans that are 100% cotton (they must be 100%)

  • Check out this article for other paper making supplies you need!

How to make paper out of jeans, denim pulp by Jackie Partridge

The Process for Making Paper out of Recycled Denim

Denim Doily -Medium
Denim Doily -Medium
CA$90.00
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You can make paper with found denim as long as the fibres are 100% cotton. In order to make paper out of fabric the fibres need to be natural and not include synthetic fibres. Now a days it can be hard to find blue jeans like that!

Above is an image from the paper making process —> turning denim —> tiny strands of thread —> to pulp —> to paper


Steps for Paper Making with Recycled Blue Jeans:

In order to make the denim paper the blue jeans must be collected rinsed with water (this removes the laundry detergent so the pulp isn’t foamy) and cut into tiny 1cmx 1cm squares. I sort my denim by shade of blue jeans this will get you different blues in your paper. You will have to rinse the jeans in the washing machine with no detergent for a couple cycles to remove any soap residue. If you don’t properly wash the denim you will get lots of foam and bubbles when you run them through the hollander beater. After the squares are cut they are put into a beater that grinds the natural fibres into tiny blue threads.

After the pulp is beaten down to tiny threads (taking around 4 hours or longer). The longer you beat the denim pulp the less threads appear in the paper. The pulp is added into a vat of water and a mould and deckle are used to create sheets of paper. You will scoop the recycled blue jean denim pulp with a mould and deckle in the vat of water and pull a sheet. Then remove the top mould and press the screen on sheets of felt squeezing out excess water. You can also press down with a dry sponge. Layer a felt of the wet sheets of paper. Then place the stack of felts and blue jean paper in a press to squeeze out extra water. Remove sheets of paper and dry them by hanging or in a flat dryer. It will take over 24 hours to dry.

A handful of denim pulp

A handful of denim pulp

Here is abaca paper mixed with denim pulp in a mould and deckle (this forms the shape of the paper)

Here is abaca paper mixed with denim pulp in a mould and deckle (this forms the shape of the paper)

Leftover pulp dries and water can be added to make it pulp again!

Leftover pulp dries and water can be added to make it pulp again!

Denim Paper-Light and Dark Blue
Denim Paper-Light and Dark Blue
CA$28.00
Shade of Blue:
Quantity:
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Marbled Denim Paper
Marbled Denim Paper
CA$28.00

Sediment -Art Installation by Jackie Partridge

Sediment art installation by Jackie Partridge was started in 2017. I started paper making in 2015 where I was working as a teaching assistant in a paper making class during my MFA. See some behind the scenes look at a current project and learn about the process of paper making below!

Sediment is an ongoing art installation since 2017 where I form sheets of handmade paper with blue jeans from my grandfather. Currently there are about 300 pieces of handmade paper.

Sediment art installation with blue denim handmade paper by Jackie Partridge

My grandfather is a retired farmer who sold the family owned century farm in 2012.

The paper acts as a memory and are stacked on the floor like waves in the water.

This piece is inspired by the artwork Remnants that also used old farming clothes belonging to my grandfather.

Learn how to make paper out of denim here! This explains the process for making this artwork.

Sediment art installation by Jackie Partridge made of 300 sheets of handmade denim paper

In order to make the denim paper the blue jeans must be collected rinsed with water and cut into tiny 1”x1” squares. After the squares are cut they are put into a beater that grinds the natural fibres into tiny blue threads.

The paper making process- denim pulp

The paper making process- denim pulp

After the pulp is beaten down to tiny threads (taking around 4 hours or longer) The pulp is added into a vat of water and a mould and deckle are used to create sheets of paper.

This is the mould and deckle used to create the circle sheets of paper

This is the mould and deckle used to create the circle sheets of paper

Marbled Denim Paper
Marbled Denim Paper
CA$28.00
Quantity:
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I invite you to take a look at the handmade paper I sell in my shop. Check out my beautiful handmade paper art here!

Don’t forget to enter your email at the bottom of the post to save 15% off artwork!

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Pocket Full of Sunshine
Pocket Full of Sunshine
CA$90.00
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