Yulia Brodskaya’s Amazing Paper Furl Artwork is a Modern Take on the Tradition of Quilling

Artist <a href="http://www.artyulia.com/" target="_blank">Yulia Brodskaya</a> carefully cuts and folds colorful <a href="http://inhabitat.com/cecilia-levys-dainty-little-tea-cups-are-made-from-recycled-book-pages/" target="_blank">pieces of paper</a> to create stunning portraits and pictures. The Moscow-born artist has mastered the art of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quilling" target="_blank">quilling</a>, which is the practice of creating illustrations by bending strips of paper rather using than toxic paints. Brodskaya makes meticulously crafted paper creations for clients around the globe, and she has also developed her own series of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/miniaturist-jason-daquino-creates-tiny-portraits-on-recycled-matchbooks/" target="_blank">personal portraits</a>.

Brodskaya’s pieces draw form a longstanding art form that was reserved for women in the past.  Quilling has been practiced since the Renaissance, and it traditionally used <a href="http://inhabitat.com/make-a-pleated-top-hat-from-office-waste-paper/" target="_blank">repurposed strips of paper</a> that were cut from the gilded <a href="http://inhabitat.com/guy-laramee-carves-gorgeous-landscapes-into-the-edges-of-books/" target="_blank">edges of books</a>. The paper ribbons were then spun into simple shapes like flowers or decorative coils. Quilling was considered an un-academic art that was practiced by ladies of leisure.

Bucking the chauvinist associations of quilling, Brodskaya’s massive, <a href="http://inhabitat.com/vik-muniz-creates-giant-portraits-using-garbage-from-rio-de-janeiro’s-landfills/" target="_blank">multi-layered portraits</a> challenge the art form's simplistic associations.

The trained graphic designer became interested in quilling due to a fascination with the medium- she’d kept a collection of vintage papers to use for <a href="http://inhabitat.com/mark-wagners-dollar-bill-collages-poke-fun-at-money-feature-george-washington/" target="_blank">collages</a> and as backgrounds of her illustrations.  Having practiced quilling as a child, she refined her practice to create the complex works she makes today, which she calls “paper graphics.”

Scrolls of colorful <a href="http://inhabitat.com/jim-dorans-minuscule-dioramas-are-found-hidden-within-sardine-tins/" target="_blank">paper ribbons are bent</a> and swirled perfectly to form words and textures, with no margin for error.

The <a href="http://inhabitat.com/wrapping-paper-and-holiday-cards-from-the-uk-could-send-a-bus-to-the-moon-20-times/" target="_blank">paper edges</a> are held into place with a thin strip of glue, and Brodskaya builds up layers until she feels each image is complete.

Since her pieces are very exact, she must draw sketches before setting to work - once a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/waterproof-crumpled-city-maps-are-lightweight-durable-and-recyclable/" target="_blank">paper scroll</a> is glued, there is no going back! Commercially, her whirls and furls have graced ads for clients such as Cadbury, Hermes, Target, and countless others. Now that she has mastered her craft, she has begun a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/portrait-of-steve-jobs-made-with-over-3500-apples/" target="_blank">series of portraits</a> that illustrate her papergraphics process with much more detail than her commercial work.