What is paper quilling, you ask? And why would Lacey and I go to a class to learn it?
Paper quilling is an art form where you roll thin strips of paper into coils & scrolls and then position the rolled paper pieces to form patterns, shapes and designs. The art is traceable to the 15th century and became popular in the 18th century. It was a fashionable hobby for the young women at the time. Lacey & I are fashionable young women, so we naturally gravitated toward taking a class on the art form. (Note: I actually am neither young nor fashionable, but I do love art and trying new things. The classes were free at the Metropolitan Library and I also knew the teacher.)
The top right snowflake pendant is a piece that our teacher made.
At a craft show last November, my booth was next to an artist who sold beautiful pendants and ornaments ... made from paper!! I was blown away by the fact that everything in her booth was made from paper and that she handmade each piece. The artist was Toni Swayze. She has been making paper art for over a decade and is a member of both the North American Quilling Guild and the Quilling Guild based in the United Kingdom. We talked throughout the day and she informed me that she teaches for the Metropolitan Library System. We exchanged contact information and she promised to enroll me in her next class.
Fast forward a few months and Lacey & I find ourselves in Paper Quilling for Beginners. Toni started class with a brief history lesson and showed us some examples of her finished artwork. We then learned about our quilling tools. Our main tool was a metal pick with a slot across the head. The object was to slide the end of a strip of paper into the slot and coil the paper into a small tight spiral. We made several of these spirals for practice. Once we got the hang of it, we moved onto other rolled shapes. Toni provided us with a chart of basic shapes. We made tear drops, squares and hearts. After we finished making all the simple shapes, our "assignment" was to design a flower. The pattern was a little hard to follow so I made my own flowers. Since we mastered the basic techniques in the beginners class, Toni invited us back for her advanced class a week later.
Mine are the two flowers on the bottom left and Lacey's is the one to the right. She was much better a following the flower pattern.
There were five students in the beginners' class. Only three of us returned for the advanced class. The advanced class was certainly advanced. We were all given a new quilling chart with much more complicated patterns. I don't think my technique would have granted me access to the advanced class but I knew the teacher (yay for connections, right?) and Lacey was an expert quiller. The shapes we made in the advanced class used multiple strips of paper. My favorite were the beehive (below, purple) and royal flower (below, yellow). For these two shapes, we started by rolling a large tear drop shape. We then rolled another strip of paper into small spirals and then put the spiraled paper into the large tear drop.
Mine's on the left and Lacey's is on the right.
Since this was the advanced class, Toni assumed everyone was familiar with the techniques and we moved through the chart fairly quickly. I would have preferred a more thorough demonstration, as I needed some one-on-one assistance on a few of the shapes. Since it was a small class, we finished a little early and Toni was able to spend some time working at mine and Lacey's table toward the end of class. I really struggled with the Malaysian shape, which is a spiraled tear drop curled into another tear drop. Lacey's is the perfect blue one in the picture above. My first attempt was awful so Toni gave me more paper for a second attempt. Sadly, it did not turn out much better. LOL She also showed us examples of her work that incorporated the shapes we were learning. That woman makes some amazing flowers and butterflies!
I enjoyed paper quilling and I think it was fun to learn but I do not believe I will be adding it to my collection of hobbies. It proved to be a very involved and time consuming task. It took me forever to finish the simple projects we made in class (I can't imagine how long it takes for more complicated designs!) The advanced patterns demanded too much precision. After making a handful of coils and scrolls--and most of them oddly misshapen-- the task became less fun and more tedious. I just do not have enough patience for it. Which is why I am glad people like Toni go to craft shows... if I ever need a beautiful paper pendant, I know who to buy from!
Toni generously provided us each supplies and instructions for a project to complete at home.
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