Revelry Gallery welcomes paper artist Jagged Little Quill for her first solo exhibition in our gallery. JLQ is a self-taught paper quilling artist, an art form she uses to create intricate narrative scenes and beautiful decorative motifs from thin strips of paper. Join us online for the opening of 'Paper Dolls' on Friday, March 5th, which will remain up in our gallery through April 5th. 😷 Face masks required!
Themes of unapologetic self-love and self-care are at the heart of Jagged Little Quill’s new body of work, Paper Dolls. Artist Kasey Petrocelli, better known as Jagged Little Quill, channeled her desire to escape the stress and tumult of the past year into her paper-quilled work.      
Paper quilling is a technique dating back to the Renaissance, in which hundreds of tiny strips of paper are folded, rolled and glued in place to create ornate designs on a stiff surface. The art form is notoriously tedious, requiring a great deal of patience and precision. When explaining her art practice, Petrocelli states, “My process is long and time consuming, which is what I love about it. It starts with a sketch painted on canvas, then I cut hundreds of strips of paper and finally get to start the quilling. I usually have a picture in my head but as time goes on it never quite ends up like that, and I really enjoy the surprise of it all.”
The loving care and attention to detail Petrocelli gives to each piece underscores the idea that we should all treat ourselves like a precious piece of art. These snapshot scenes feature a variety of women engaging in relaxing activities like reading, bathing and doing yoga in idyllic settings. The women appear content and comfortable in their own skin, luxuriating in time spent just for themselves. The bright yet soft color palettes emanate a quiet calm that compliments the more playful patterns in the backgrounds of the work.
 
Each piece in this collection celebrates the healing power of self-care and solitude we can all grant ourselves in uncertain times. Petrocelli’s pieces act as little windows of warmth and optimism that transport the viewer out of the reality of our current world, if only for a moment.