Small Paper Houses

I started creating small paper houses in 2016, calling this series Tree Houses. The small paper houses has been an ongoing series of photographs where I place the paper houses in parts of the natural environment like woodpecker holes, on stumps and between leaves. To learn more about the series of small paper houses, keep reading! 

Much of my current practice involves working outdoors as my studio and using paper to add or transform an area of a landscape that is close to me and I have spent time with. I see both the process of making the work and documenting the work in a photograph as the artwork.

 

In the Tree Houses series, I create miniature brown paper houses and place them in the landscape as tiny villages on tree stumps and in nooks and crannies of the natural environment. The houses are varied in size. After placing them, I take a photograph and remove the house to place it in a new location next time.  This series signifies the idea that home can be made where you make it and the importance of valuing the natural environment as a home. The small paper houses create miniature worlds or communities within the photo that is taken. 

I like taking the paper houses with me on hikes and walks to be able to capture new photos to add in the series. I would like to create a book of the small paper houses in the future.

small paper houses


You can take a look at some of the small paper houses series in the images below. 

small paper houses
small paper houses

This series of Tree Houses has been featured in:

  • Art Promenade (Photograph of Treehouses), City of Waterloo Public Art Installation in 2022

  • State of Becoming, Button Factory Arts, Waterloo, ON in 2017

  • Tree House (select photograph) Tiny Spoon (Issue 10) in 2023






To connect with me, please click on any of the icons below! Leave a comment below letting me know which photo you love from the series. 







Conceal - Art Installation by Jackie Partridge

Conceal is a project that was inspired my a previous work Trapped this work is from 2017 by artist Jackie Partridge.  In the installation below I use the same hand dyed and hand embroidered dishcloth quilt from Trapped. The dishcloth quilt is made to resemble an aerial view of farmlands. Farming runs in my family as both sets of grandparents and great-grandparents owned farms. I grew up in Wellesley, Ontario, a small town surrounded by farmlands. I watched the land over time develop into subdivision after subdivision. This artwork became symbolic for concealing or covering, protecting and hiding the land. The dishcloths are dyed with inks and acrylic fluids with bright colours of greens, browns, yellows, oranges and pinks to represent the colours and beauty of farm fields. I really wanted to highlight the beauty and vibrancy of the landscape.

I am interested in quilts and fibre art because when I grew up I had 8 grandmothers including great-grandmothers and great-great-grandmothers. So the craft of embroidery and sewing are very important to my family heritage. 

With my art practice I often reuse elements and photograph different artwork outside to change and transform the context of the work itself. I see my art evolving and transforming through time similar to how the landscape is in a constant state of change.

This quilt inspired artwork is draped over rocks at my grandmother’s house in Kinmount, ON. Their property is a special place where I enjoy spending my summer. I find being in nature to be a very inspiring place for my work and me as an artist. Photographed by me in summer 2017.

I see the quilt as a symbol of protection, warmth and comfort. Like most quilts are. 

You can see my current art practice here!

Shop for handmade art -here

Follow me on social media @jackiepartridge_ to see current artwork and to hear about upcoming art exhibitions. 

Conceal by Jackie Partridge
textile artwork outdoor installation by Jackie Partridge

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