Verlocal Diaries: Artiza Studio
Each week, “Verlocal Diaries” records the Verlocal team’s adventures to various classes conducted by our hosts. From the narration of our hosts’ stories to the thoughts of our fellow participants, we piece together everything we have experienced to create a long lasting memory in the form of a diary entry — that is both personal and shareable.
In anticipation for our quilling session with Shobha, I did a simple Google search and countless images of intricate and complicated quilling art came up. What is commonly associated to be a craft for kids did not seem so simple and easy after the search, as I found myself questioning my ability to create such elaborate pieces.
Digging deeper, I chanced upon an article on the history of quilling, where it reveals that the quilling techniques were originally practised in Ancient Egypt. Back in the 16th and 17th centuries, the art of quilling was popularised by French and Italian nuns who used it to decorate their religious objects. This information completely eliminates my prior impression of quilling being a craft for kids.
The sun was harsh and merciless on the morning we navigated our way to Shobha’s place. By the time we reached our destination, the unforgiving weather had left us tired and irritable.
That, however, changed instantaneously as Shobha welcomed each of us with a glass of cold water and we settled down before all of the materials she had prepared for us. Shobha showed us what we will be making and proceeded to guide us along the basics of quilling.
The session was therapeutic since it felt like I was in control when I was quilling. All I had to do was to pick up the basics and I was on my way to create many different designs by gluing the pieces together. Check out this bee I quilled! #proud
It wasn’t until I started to put the pieces together and form my art piece that I understood what Shobha meant when she said she felt accomplished as she put together her quilled pieces together to form her art piece.
“I was taking [my twin daughters] to many arts and crafts classes and there I saw a quilling book. I picked up the skill and started teaching my daughters. They moved on but here I am! It is very satisfying when you see all the beautiful colours and pieces come together on the canvas.” — Shobha
The ultimate fun and enjoyment came when I arranged the quilled pieces on the paper; I can choose where I want to position my quilled pieces and what the colours I wanted to use.
Unlike other art mediums, you can progress from making basic designs to more elaborate designs once you get a hang of making basic quilling shapes. The simplicity and ease in picking up the skill allows you to express yourself without worrying whether you could manifest what you imagined into reality.
Amanda’s impression of quilling changed.
Prior to this class, Amanda had an artistic background from trying different mediums like watercolour, drawing, and digital painting. She had never heard of paper quilling until she came across Shobha’s class at the Verlocal Design Fest. However, she didn’t take a dive into the art form back then as she was short on time.
“I also thought that it’s not really impressive or long-lasting since its base is paper.” — Amanda
However, when she got her hands-on lesson with Shobha this time around, she was quite surprised by how intricate the designs can be and that changed her impression of paper quilling.
“Not only do you have to coil the paper, you could also make shapes out of them like a flower, by combining 5 of the same shapes into one. So there’s a lot more going into it than I initially thought.” — Amanda
Amanda also shares that having an arts background is helpful when you work on your own design. However, those without artistic background need not worry as we were given a reference to create from since this was a beginner’s class.
Natasha struggled in getting the quilling techniques right.
Unlike Amanda, Natasha did not have a strong artistic background and paper quilling was a totally new experience for her.
“She made it look so easy! But when I tried doing it myself, I struggled to quill the strip of paper into the expected shape and size.” — Natasha
While it has been a challenging process for Natasha, she shares that it was also a very relaxing experience and she thoroughly enjoyed it. She also commented on how the quiet and peaceful environment made it ideal for her to work on her pieces.
“Shobha was always ready to help us if we are stuck at any step but she also made sure that we knew where we went wrong, making it a great learning process as well.” — Natasha
Despite struggling to pick up the basic quilling techniques, Natasha is still considering to do more paper quilling in her free time and work on getting the techniques right.
While I might not be great at arts and crafts, I enjoyed my time during the paper quilling session and it can get really fun once you’ve gotten the hang of it! — Natasha
Sean shares about his therapeutic quilling experience.
For Sean who has never heard of paper quilling before, he imagined it to be a very complex process. However, he soon realised that it is perfect for beginners after Shobha’s clear explanation of the basics of paper quilling— where strips of coloured paper were spun to create the basic components and we had to pinch and knead the shape in order to get what we wanted.
“ I did not have any artistic experience before going into this. However, I felt that the shapes were simple enough to form in just 1 or 2 steps, hence it wasn’t very difficult. I feel that this class is definitely beginner friendly!” — Sean
Sean shares that the challenging and interesting aspect of paper quilling was playing with the shapes and colour to achieve the creative result he wanted. He faced problems with controlling the amount of force he used and making sure not to apply too much pressure, lest the shape becomes compressed. After ending up with some squished petals and leaves, he mastered the technique to create a smoother shape.
“The paper quills were also very delicate to handle, requiring a fair bit of patience and precision from me to roll the strip of paper. However, that wasn’t too much of a headache as Shobha provided a helpful template for us.” — Sean
Sean plans on experimenting with paper quilling in the future as he sees paper quilling is a good skill to have — working with something as simple as paper.
“It was enjoyable to build on it and create something that was uniquely mine! There was also something therapeutic about furling and fashioning each component, which came together in the end to form my final artwork.” — Sean
Final Thoughts
It is safe to say that all of our perceptions of paper quilling changed after the session. The paper quilling session was a unique and therapeutic experience for all of us. It may not be the right activity for everyone but you will never know whether it is the right fit for you unless you try it for yourself!
Check out more paper quilling lessons from Shobha Jain and sign up here!
