Art In Action: Not So Eccentric
By DARLA MCCAMMON
Lakeland Art Association
WARSAW — Our artist this week lives a more normalized personal life compared to some of our other and upcoming examples of eccentricity in artists; however, her work is unique and different and compelling. Yulia Brodskaya was born in Russia and by the age of 6 her parents recognized an art talent in their daughter that could not be denied. They sent her for art training where she thrived. She learned much traditional art but found a real niche for herself as she expanded into Textiles, Collages, and Origami. In 2004 Brodskaya moved to Great Britain where she obtained an MA degree in Graphic Communication. She has since become internationally famous, particularly for her works in “quilling.” Her work takes quilling to a completely new and innovative level however, and she has become a huge commercial success selling most of her work, not so much for private collectors, but for big business and their marketing efforts.
Quilling is a technique in which paper becomes the art, rather than the receptor of the paint.
Using tools such as scissors, exact-o knives, cocktail straws, different size spindles which are often just plain old pencils around which one can curl paper of every hue imaginable, she applies her skill. She uses thin paper stock all the way up to heavy card stock: these are her paintbrushes.
She has even provided work that went on the cover of one of England’s most famous book publishing companies. When asked about her sales and how she earns her living, Bodskaya compares herself to traditional artists who sell things in galleries or at auctions, “My situation is very different; I don’t sell my original works, I create the works for specific projects and my clients use the photographs.” They take these photographs of her finished creations and then utilize these for their books, magazines or advertising campaigns.
Her work is extremely detailed and as you can see from the “Old man with the guitar” her finished work is intricate and colorful and unbelievably amazing. You can pull up her name on the internet and find a number of different sites and articles with stunning photos of her creations.
I would like to see them in person because they are three dimensional as she glues the narrow side of each curled strip of paper to a backing sheet. Strip by strip she carefully pastes this art work together until a face or a beautiful design or an intricate bird begins to appear before the viewer. The photo gives you only a small idea of the work she is capable of doing. I urge you to look up some of her things on the internet. You can’t help but be impressed. It may even make you want to try your hand at “quilling” too!
Upcoming and Current Events:
- Paul Ramain exhibit at Warsaw City Hall. Open daily 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free Admission.
- Art Program coming up soon at our local Rotary Organization. Guest speakers will be Melodie Koher and myself. Find a Rotary member to bring you as a guest. Come and find out some things you never knew about art and at the same time learn about this terrific service organization.
For more information on topics in this column, please contact Darla McCammon at [email protected] or (574) 527-4044. Older columns at www.darlamc.com