Rolled Paper Fruit Basket by Licia Politis

First off, many thanks to the lovely folks at Folding Trees who featured my quilled Ring of Keys last week. And a warm welcome to those of you who've found your way here via that post or from Craft, Paper Crave, and all the other sites that linked to it.

I could definitely relate to what was said about quilling having more uses than making flowers. Always on a quest to find novel applications of rolled and shaped paper, I love coming across others who quill the unexpected.

Licia Politis is one who not only makes flowers and pretty paper beads; she also has the ability to create unique paper art. Here's a beautiful piece she quilled; it's called Fruitful.


It was awarded first place at Australia's 2007 Sydney Royal Easter Show and Royal Queensland Show, and first place at the 2007 North American Quilling Guild competition. It was also featured on Martha Stewart's television show, at the Museum of Bribane, and Hazelhurst Gallery in Gymea, New South Wales.
 
I like the juxtaposition of combining crimping, a technique often seen in antique quilling, with the bright, modern fruit. The pineapple uses a technique Licia devised called the vortex coil.

You may have already seen a standard quilled chess set if you're familiar with the kit that's available from many online suppliers. Licia's set is exceptional because she cleverly designed it with her homeland in mind.


She chose icons of Sydney to represent the chess pieces - the Harbour Bridge as the queen, Centrepoint Tower (Sydney's tallest building) as the king, the Opera House as rooks, cockatoos on perch as bishops, kangaroos and joeys as knights, and echidnas (spiny anteaters) as pawns.


Licia found inspiration for the beautiful green and gold board (Australia's colors) in the work of Australian illustrator/conservationist/feminist May Gibbs. May's famous flannel flowers and gum leaves make up the checkerboard pattern. The set took her about three months of spare time to complete. Matte varnish protects the board and pieces.



Licia also won several well-deserved awards for the chess set, including the 2004 English Quilling Guild's Rose Bowl, first prize in the Sydney Royal Easter Show, overall prize of Excellence in the Sydney Paper Art Festival, and she was featured as Artist of the Month in an exhibition at Hazelhurst Gallery.


Just like Yulia Brodskaya, Licia is bringing well-deserved attention to paper filigree. The countless ways coils and scrolls can be arranged make it an incredibly versatile medium. She is on Instagram.