What is Quilling Art?

All in all, a realm of papers.

Men, women, flowers, flies and mugs, mountains and streams made of paper. Oceans and ships of paper. Eight heavens all made of paper. Winged angels of paper.

Battles fought, campaigns initiated and victories won, on paper.

Quilling, an art that has started to enshrine it’s memory in our art and lives from early sixteenth century.

Colourful papers invading the art bench.For the Artist to cut slenderly with a surgeon’s accuracy and precision. A carving, if the need be, that scoops the papers in and out tenuously.
To help them transform into a verse or a prophetic deed.
Or turn them into a crimson rose blossoming on pages of a book, or a bouquet of pink roses, that one can hardly have the heart to touch or sniff.
Or, a deer hiding behind the bushes, peeping to render us all powerless.
Or, a standalone shrine on one of the secluded alleys of Istanbul Old Town, to cast a tiny refreshment upon hearts.
Or, a clock tower that appears in the heart of the town, precisely adjusted to the running time, serving as a reminder of the meaningful oath to time, in Surah-Al-Asr of the Sacred Book.

Or, may form into the silhouette of a hailed commander of dignity, standing mounted on his horse and praising His Name before our Lord, as a proud harbinger of victory.

All made up of paper, yet, easier said than done.
Quilling is an exacting practice that requires a heightened sense of measure, balance and coherence.
It is in fact this practice, which helps the wielder attain finesse in wielding the brush, use the pen more strongly and scissors neater to the gauge, after months long rehearsals.And also the spirit gets its share of compassion, from this practice.It helps the mankind with improving the inherent humanity through practice.

Consequently, as life feeds the art, art pays its tribute to the soul, in a conveniently gentle manner.

 The Quilling Artist lays a uniquely flossy, angelic touch upon life.
 And becomes the Caliph of the Lord’s most beautiful and faithful creation.
 Calligraphy, gilt, miniature painting, paper marbling, Indian tiling, quilling and other traditional arts sometimes provide calmness to the heart, and complacence to the mind, at others.They sometimes remind one “to follow the path of God through traces of His Messenger”.But always tell the phrase “Remember Me So That I Will Remember You”.
 Engraving a paper may sometimes take months. And every piece finds its final resting place in a gorgeous composition.  For examples, refer to:
 “40 Hadiths Magazine” published on order of Suleiman the Magnificent,
 The Polo Game, a Calligraphic Art Piece prepared by Mehmet Bin Gazanfer employing the Taliq style of Arabic Script,
 The renowned engraved stanzas of Fahri el-Bursavi in Taliq style
 Mehmet Selim’s Poetry Collection, a piece of art that blinds with various flower, vase, bird and garden engravings in the archives of General Directorate for Foundations,
 The Anthology of Turkish Poetry that belongs to the 18th century,
 The Album of Mahmoud of Gazhni, found in the library of the University of Istanbul,
 The carved paper drawer of Hassan Eyyubi, a Dervish of the Mevlevi Order, found in the Topkapi Seraglio.
 And countless others...

Books are invaluable for they derive their worth from the God’s opening instruction “to read”, of the Book of Divine Inspirations. Our art has gained leadership in book arts, of all this realm. Yet, scholars love to put the blame for the ongoing ignorance, which can take the form of total denial of these values amongst countrymen on “late arrival of printing technology”, which they associate with a country-wide regression in culture and arts, in their writings and teachings. That is in fact what we read and learned back at the school.

 As we witness the genuine scrolls and manuscripts stored in government’s archives, public museums and private libraries, we can’t help but say “Have a Heart”, so, Have a Heart...

 In the seventeenth century, travellers convey these workpieces to the European Continent, from the Ottoman Empire. While they are gladly welcomed with the increased significance and sympathy by their new hosts in the outland, the time comes for them to fade into vanity inland, which is the case for many other book arts.

 But the Lord acts in his own way to protect and never lets any such beauty of wealth go in vein. The relentless efforts, benevolence and prayers of elders of the Mevlevi Order never disappear from the skies, but build a path reaching at quilling arts, whereby the art reappears right from where it had vanished.

 Then all these beauties come into existence and prosper in the dexterous hands of the quilling artist.  Would you like to touch, feel and say hello to this beautiful master pieces to help these Fine Arts of Beautiful Aesthetics invigorate?

Ayfer BALABAN