Laina Tasch - Quilling Artist

What is Quilling and who is Laina Tasch (in her own words)?

Paper Quilling, or Filigree, is an art form in which thin strips of paper are rolled, shaped, and glued together. It is an art form that has been used for thousands of years. In ancient Egypt, they coiled and shaped silver and gold wires to decorate tombs. In the Middle Ages, nuns and monks used paper quilling to decorate holy books. In Victorian times, affluent ladies used the art form to show their wealth and availability to prospective husbands. Today it is not very well known, but it is gaining in popularity.

My introduction to quilling came in 2019 when my sister showed me a birthday card she made with small quilled flowers on the front. I immediately was drawn to it and asked her to show me how to do it. I purchased a quilling needle and some strips of paper and dove in head first, learning everything I could about the different technics. It became my therapy and boredom buster throughout the pandemic. 

My first few practice pieces were flowers, mushrooms and ladybugs. They were very cute, but I wasn’t sure of what to do with them after they were completed. Next, I made a dancing bear head and realized I was on to something there. Since then, I have spent countless hours twirling, pinching and gluing tiny pieces of paper into beautiful representations of the music and community that I love.