Ooak Quilled Landscape: Birches At Sunset

What began as a hobby in 1973 has become my main focus today. Quilling gives me the opportunity to combine my love of nature with my love of art, and the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, in addition to a few other local fine juried craft shows, gives me a wonderful outlet for my work and the motivation to pursue new ideas.

My original technique of overlaying a simple cut out over the quill work, which is narrow strips of paper rolled and shaped, has allowed me to incorporate the traditional craft of quilling into my ducks, birds, wild flowers, and other wildlife. The cut out is the design and the quill work, or rolls of paper, is the detail for the feathers in the ducks and birds, the veins in the flowers and leaves, and the fur in the moose and polar bear.

This technique has taught me to "see again" as the shading requires sometimes tedious time and patience to get it right. And if you don't see it, you can't recreate it. I feel that my quill work and cut out technique has caused my quilling to cross that line from craft to art. Oftentimes, my quill work defies recognition.

I have now added paper sculpture and paper cut work to my pieces. I am also working on scenes and large pieces -- the time for production has passed and it is now time to be much more creative. I want to create pieces that will make you stop and rest awhile, pieces that you will really want to be a Part of Your Life.

A little more information about my work -- I do everything from the beginning to the end of each and every piece…Just Me. I start with the design work, the cutting of the overlay with an exacto knife, the rolling of the quilling paper, by hand, the glueing, the cutting of the mats, the cutting of the glass, the putting-it-all-together in the frame under glass, the photographing and all the website work. Thanks for checking out my portfolio. I look forward to working with you for that special custom piece.