Sunday, September 17, 2017

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--AUTHOR LOIS WINSTON ON QUILLING

Summer Island by Paryse Martin
Quilling—which is also known as paper rolling, paper-scrolling, or paper filigree—is an inexpensive craft that anyone can learn in a very short amount of time. The basic quilling technique involves rolling a strip of paper into a coil, pinching the coil into shapes, and gluing them together. The paper strips can also be looped, curled, and twisted into various shapes. Nowadays quilling is mostly used to create jewelry and decorate greeting cards and invitations, but it can also be used to embellish boxes, pictures, or just about anything.

Detail from an 18th century quilled cabinet
Quilling is thought to go back as far as ancient Egypt. French and Italian nuns during the Renaissance decorated book covers and religious items with quilling. Well-to-do European women in the 18th century took up quilling as a leisure pastime. Back then quilling decorated everything from cabinets to cribbage boards to ladies’ purses.

Detail of Summer Island with quilling filling a bell jar
In the 1980’s quilling was very popular among crafters in the United States, but I haven’t seen much in the way of quilling in quite some time. That is, until my recent trip to Canada where I saw the most unique piece of quilled artwork I’ve ever come across. It’s called The Summer Island and was created by artist Paryse Martin in 2005.

Detail of base of Summer Island, covered entirely in quilling 

What do you think?

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