 | This article possibly contains original research .(August 2020) |
Quilling is an art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs. The paper shape is manipulated to create designs on their own or to decorate other objects, such as greetings cards, pictures, boxes, or to make jewelry.
Quilling - also known as paper-rolling, or paper scrolling - has a long and interesting history. The origins of quilling are not recorded, but some think it began with the invention of paper, in China in 105 AD or in Egypt, where some tombs have been found to contain wire shapes similar in appearance to modern quilling.
It is believed that in the 300s and 400s, silver and gold wires were quilled around pillars and vases, and jewelry made using this technique. Quilling was practised by Greeks who used thin metal wires to decorate containers and boxes. The earliest works ever were from the medieval period. Also they were found in religious houses across Europe.
With many nationalities claiming the origins of the craft of quilling, it is almost impossible to determine which one invented it. In the 13th century, metal filigree was used for decoration in many countries. But when traditional materials became scarce and unobtainable to the layperson, the paper was used as a substitute.
In England, with the appearance of first paper mills around 1495, the establishment of paper manufacturing was significant factor in the development of quill work. Paper, elaborately constructed into design and then gilded, substituted more expensive metal.
There are records of French and Italian nuns using the torn edges of gilt-edged Holy books from 1200s - 1600s. These pieces were wrapped around goose quills to create coiled shapes for decoration of reliquaries and holy pictures. They used paper and then gilded or painted the finished work replicating expensive intricacies of wrought iron or carved ivory. This practice of using quills resulted in the craft's name - quilling.
Many sources claim that in Europe the ladies of affluence were taught quilling along with the needle work in Edwardian and Victorian times. Special recesses were made in tea caddies, baskets, portraits, screens and even in furniture sides to allocate the surface for intricate paper coils and shapes. The instructions and templates were published in magazines of the time. The quality of quilling was at its highest standard.
These were mostly genteel women in Europe, and particularly in England, where quilling was seen as a proper hobby for young ladies to take up along with needlework. It flourished among the ladies of upper classes who had no need for gainful work and were spared domestic chores.
Quilling guild of England makes references to The New Lady's Magazine of 1786: "... it affords an amusement to the female mind capable of the most pleasing and extensive variety; and at the same time, it conduces to fill up a leisure hour with an innocent recreation ..:' Another source, an Edwardian book of household management entitled 'Floral Mosaicon,' provided a reference to Queen Mary and Queen Alexandra purchasing paper pieces.
Only those with money could afford to purchase the supplies needed for quilling such as foil, mica or flaked shell, which were often used as backgrounds. Wooden frames were sold for the sole purpose of being decorated with pieces of paper rolled, shaped and glued into patterns. The projects were usually finished by painting or gilding. The ladies were to use quilling to while away their hours in the pursuit of becoming accomplished women, comfortable knowing that in time, an eligible bachelor would likely take them as a wife. Quilling thereby became a means of signaling wealth and leisure time to prospective husbands.
Until then they decorated screens, cabinets, frames, tea caddies, cribbage boards, wine coasters, work baskets and work boxes, urns and over time, even furniture. Certainly the craft was popular in the early 1810s (the Regency period), but its popularity waned soon after. In 1875 quilling was reintroduced in Europe by William Bemrose, who produced a kit called 'Mosaicon' that included a handbook on quilling. But by the beginning of 20th century it was only introduced as part of a school craft education.
Many European museums hold examples of quilled work, and two major exhibitions of quilling have been held in 1927 in London, one reportedly displaying items quilled presumably by Charles I.
The exhibition of 1988 in New York at the Florian-Papp Gallery presented for exhibition and sale some exquisite examples, mostly of European origin. Patricia Caputo also writes extensively on the revival of quilling in America. She has mentioned the American Quilling Guild, surviving suppliers, exhibitions, and overall growing popularity of the craft in 1970s-1980s. The Quilling guild of England is a very popular organisation across Europe and Australia, staging exhibitions and providing classes extensively in both modern and classic styles of quilling. The British quilling guild staged festivals of the craft across the country since the 1990s, and hopes to have a permanent display of its archives.
The best literary example of quilling as a ladies' pastime was given in Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility . Lucy Steele, attempting to curry favour with the Middletons, in particular with Lady Middleton, creates a filigree work basket for the Middleton's spoilt daughter, Anna-Maria: "Perhaps," continued Elinor, "if I should happen to cut out, I may be of some use to Miss Lucy Steele, in rolling her papers for her; and there is so much still to be done to the basket, that it must be impossible, I think, for her labour singly, to finish it this evening. I should like the work exceedingly, if she would allow me a share in it." But later Austen depicts the filigree basket as a waste of time and money because of its useless fragility. (Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen, Chapter 23) If you have ever wondered what the Bennet sisters were doing with a number of pieces of rolled paper spread over the table in one scene, fortunately, you will now be in the know!
Many examples of quilled art can be found on cabinets and stands, cribbage boards, ladies' purses, a wide range of both pictures and frames, work baskets, tea caddies, coats of arms and wine coasters. Storage boxes, larger than most jewelry boxes with drawers and/or tops that opened, quilled lock boxes, are popular. In recent times, quilling jewelry has become a trend for fashion lovers, as it can be very light and easy to carry on them. Some items were specially designed for quilling, with recessed surfaces. Quilling was also combined or married with other techniques such as embroidery and painting. [1]
Today, quilling is seeing a resurgence in popularity. It is sometimes used for decorating wedding invitations, for Christmas, birth announcements, greeting cards, scrapbook pages, and boxes. Quilling can be found in art galleries in Europe and in the United States, and is an art that is practiced around the world. [2]
Quilling is relatively easy to learn compared to most other crafts, and with the resources available today, it can be learned by almost everyone. Basic quilling techniques can be learned almost anywhere and there are several videos online that teach how to start quilling. [3] There are more exotic styles of quilling that aren't commonly taught, but can be learned through books that teach the specific styles. [4]
The slotted tool is the most important quilling tool as it makes curling coils much easier and faster. Bird feather quills can be used as slotted tools, and this is where the word 'quilling' comes from. [5] The quality of the coil is noticeably higher compared to a coil that was curled with a toothpick or hand. For younger children, it is recommended that a Curling Coach be used with the slotted tool.
The needle tool plays a supporting role in the craft. It is used primarily to apply glue to hard-to-reach areas of the coil or quilling design.
Tweezers are used to make delicate coils to prevent warping and unraveling. They keep the coils the same size which is important when making something with duplicate coils, like flower petals. Tweezers are also helpful in inserting paper in tight spaces.
The circle sizer ruler is not essential in making coils into a desired size after curling. The ruler on the side is used to measure each strip to ensure they are the same length before curling.
Curling coaches make a great complement tool for slotted tools and are recommended for younger kids and people who like to quill 3D miniatures. It makes curling the strips much faster and easier than if they were curled with just the slotted tool.
This tool is used to make crimped quilling strips. It helps to create different patterns. It is used to make a zig-zag pattern to the sheet.
Any type of paper can be used for quilling, however some will last for longer than others. Specialist quilling paper is available on the consumer market in over 250 colors and dimensions. It can be divided into various categories, like solid-colored, graduated, two-tone, acid-free, and other assorted parcels of quilling paper. It is available in various dimensions, such as 1/8”, 1/4” and 3/8" or 3mm, 5mm, 7mm, and 10mm paper parcels, [6] 5mm being the most widely-used size.
Acid-Free
As the name clearly indicates this is a paper that is completely acid-free. The quality makes it an outstanding choice for making scrapbooks, rubber stamping, and creating frames for pictures. It assures your project will last a lifetime, without any side effects on the framed picture or album.
Graduated
This type of paper provides an exceptional look to decorative quilling projects. The edges have a solid color that gradually fades to white. When using a graduated paper, a quilling ring begins with a dark shade but ends up being faded to a lighter side. On the contrary, some graduated papers begin as white, or a lighter shade, and then slowly fades into a solid, darker color.
Two-Tone
This is another important type of quilling paper. It is quite similar to the graduated quilling paper in its use. The look consists of a concrete color on one side and a comparatively lighter color on the other side. With two-tone paper the color remains the same, however, the intensity of the color is different. The main use of this quilling paper is to provide a desired level of softness to the quilled subject. It possesses the capacity to quill many papers in a single spiral.
A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one's hand or by using only simple, non-automated related tools like scissors, carving implements, or hooks. It is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid materials, paper, plant fibers, clay, etc. One of the oldest handicraft is Dhokra; this is a sort of metal casting that has been used in India for over 4,000 years and is still used. In Iranian Baluchistan, women still make red ware hand-made pottery with dotted ornaments, much similar to the 5000-year-old pottery tradition of Kalpurgan, an archaeological site near the village. Usually, the term is applied to traditional techniques of creating items that are both practical and aesthetic. Handicraft industries are those that produce things with hands to meet the needs of the people in their locality without using machines.
An artisan is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food items, household items and tools and mechanisms such as the handmade clockwork movement of a watchmaker. Artisans practice a craft and may through experience and aptitude reach the expressive levels of an artist.
Decoupage or découpage is the art of decorating an object by gluing colored paper cutouts onto it in combination with special paint effects, gold leaf, and other decorative elements. Commonly, an object like a small box or an item of furniture is covered by cutouts from magazines or from purpose-manufactured papers. Each layer is sealed with varnishes until the "stuck on" appearance disappears and the result looks like painting or inlay work. The traditional technique used 30 to 40 layers of varnish which were then sanded to a polished finish.
Woodturning is the craft of using a wood lathe with hand-held tools to cut a shape that is symmetrical around the axis of rotation. Like the potter's wheel, the wood lathe is a mechanism that can generate a variety of forms. The operator is known as a turner, and the skills needed to use the tools were traditionally known as turnery. In pre-industrial England, these skills were sufficiently difficult to be known as "the mysteries of the turners' guild." The skills to use the tools by hand, without a fixed point of contact with the wood, distinguish woodturning and the wood lathe from the machinist's lathe, or metal-working lathe.
Quillwork is a form of textile embellishment traditionally practiced by Indigenous peoples of North America that employs the quills of porcupines as an aesthetic element. Quills from bird feathers were also occasionally used in quillwork.
A picture frame is a protective and decorative edging for a picture, such as a painting or photograph. It makes displaying the work safer and easier and both sets the picture apart from its surroundings and aesthetically integrates it with them.
Khātam is an ancient Persian technique of inlaying. It is a version of marquetry where art forms are made by decorating the surface of wooden articles with delicate pieces of wood, bone and metal precisely-cut intricate geometric patterns. Khatam-kari (خاتمکاری) or khatam-bandi (خاتمبندی) refers to the art of crafting a khatam. Common materials used in the construction of inlaid articles are gold, silver, brass, aluminum and twisted wire.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to crafts:
Bhutanese art is similar to Tibetan art. Both are based upon Vajrayana Buddhism and its pantheon of teachers and divine beings.
Florian Papp is an antiques gallery based in New York City, USA, established in 1900. One of the oldest in America, the company carries a collection of English and European antiques from the 18th through the 20th century.
Mexican handcrafts and folk art is a complex collection of items made with various materials and intended for utilitarian, decorative or other purposes. Some of the items produced by hand in this country include ceramics, wall hangings, vases, furniture, textiles and much more. In Mexico, both crafts created for utilitarian purposes and folk art are collectively known as “artesanía” as both have a similar history and both are a valued part of Mexico's national identity. Mexico's artesanía tradition is a blend of indigenous and European techniques and designs. This blending, called “mestizo” was particularly emphasized by Mexico's political, intellectual and artistic elite in the early 20th century after the Mexican Revolution toppled Porfirio Díaz’s French-style and modernization-focused presidency. Today, Mexican artesanía is exported and is one of the reasons why tourists are attracted to the country. However, competition from manufactured products and imitations from countries like China have caused problems for Mexico’s artisans.
Parchment craft, also known as Pergamano, is the art of embellishing and decorating parchment paper through the use of techniques such as embossing, perforating, stippling, cutting and coloring.
The handcrafts of Guerrero include a number of products which are mostly made by the indigenous communities of the Mexican state of Guerrero. Some, like pottery and basketry, have existed relatively intact since the pre Hispanic period, while others have gone through significant changes in technique and design since the colonial period. Today, much of the production is for sale in the state's major tourism centers, Acapulco, Zihuatanejo and Taxco, which has influence the crafts’ modern evolution. The most important craft traditions include amate bark painting, the lacquerware of Olinalá and nearby communities and the silverwork of Taxdo.
Traditional metal working in Mexico dates from the Mesoamerican period with metals such as gold, silver and copper. Other metals were mined and worked starting in the colonial period. The working of gold and silver, especially for jewelry, initially declined after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. However, during the colonial period, the working of metals rose again and took on much of the character traditional goods still have. Today, important metal products include those from silver, gold, copper, iron, tin and more made into jewelry, household objects, furniture, pots, decorative objects, toys and more. Important metal working centers include Taxco for silver, Santa Clara del Cobre for copper, Celaya for tin and Zacatecas for wrought iron.
Oshibana (押し花) is the art of using pressed flowers and other botanical materials to create an entire picture from these natural elements. Such pressed flower art consists of drying flower petals and leaves in a flower press to flatten them, exclude light and press out moisture. These elements are then used to "paint" an artistic composition. The origin of this art form has been traced to 16th century Japan, but it is now practiced worldwide. The resulting artwork is referred to as an oshibana.
Basketry of Mexico has its origins far into the pre Hispanic period, pre-dating ceramics and the domestication of crops. By the time the Spanish arrived, there were a number of indigenous forms, a number of which are still made today. These and products that the Spanish introduced form the combined tradition that remains today. Like other Mexican handcrafts, sales to tourists and collectors is important, but basketry is not as popular as other handcrafts. Basketry techniques and materials vary from region to region depending on the vegetation available, with important traditions in Sonora, State of Mexico, Michoacán, Veracruz, Oaxaca and the Yucatán Peninsula.
Handcrafts and folk art in Mexico City is a microcosm of handcraft production in most of the rest of country. One reason for this is that the city has attracted migration from other parts of Mexico, bringing these crafts. The most important handcraft in the city is the working of a hard paper mache called cartonería, used to make piñatas and other items related to various annual celebrations. It is also used to make fantastic creatures called alebrijes, which originated here in the 20th century. While there are handcrafts made in the city, the capital is better known for selling and promoting crafts from other parts of the country, both fine, very traditional wares and inexpensive curio types, in outlets from fine shops to street markets.
Tlaxcala handcrafts and folk art is that which comes from the smallest state in Mexico, located in the center-east of the country. Its best-known wares are the "canes of Apizaco", sawdust carpets and the making of Saltillo-style serapes. However, there are other handcraft traditions, such as the making of pottery, including Talavera type wares, cartoneria, metalworking and stone working. The state supports artisans through the activities of the Fideicomiso Fondo de la Casa de las Artesanía de Tlaxcala
Iva Casuse Honwynum is a Hopi/Navajo artist, social activist, and cultural practitioner. A Native American, Honwynum is best known for her woven baskets and figurative sculpture. Honwynum's most important breakthrough was the development of the pootsaya basket, called "a rare innovation in Hopi basketry". She developed the pootsaya during her 2014 residency at the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico, having been awarded the Eric and Barbara Dookin Artist Fellowship.
Yvonne Walker Keshick is an Anishinaabe quillwork artist and basket maker.
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