Jessica Eldredge

Jessica Eldredge creates paintings and collages with hand-dyed paper she creates herself and is inspired by colors and patterns found in textiles and other decorative arts. In addition to her studio practice, she is a teaching artist facilitating classes and workshops for students of all ages partnering with organizations including NLArts, ArtWell and the Boys & Girls Club of Chester. She has a B.A. from Smith College and an M.A. from the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture.

When the pandemic started, like everyone, I didn’t know what to expect or how to prepare. On various lists of “essential items,” I saw cotton gauze and ordered some. As the months wore on and it was clear the gauze would not be used as intended, it came to remind me of that fearful, frantic time. I was stuck about what was to become of the gauze until it occurred to me that since it was 100% cotton, I could dye it. I have been working with fiber reactive dyes for a decade, dyeing paper, and painting with the dye on paper and was eager to see what would happen.  

The dyed gauze has become an incredible material in my practice. The way the fiber takes the color is fantastic, and I love the beauty of the gauze unfurled as it dries. I am still exploring the dyed gauze itself as a material to be layered into two-dimensional compositions, similar to the paintings I have been making. I also like them as groups of objects strung together, and I have been experimenting using thin wire to support them. For Art in the Open, I will dye thousands of gauze pieces. I imagine creating ways to hang the gauze to dry, both with structures I bring and using what suggests itself from the site where I work. I envision a riot of color, moving with the wind, growing each day. I will have dye and gauze available for people to try out the process for themselves as well. After the event, I anticipate layering and framing some of what is created, as well as creating an installation.