Modern art Quilling

A quick quilling of modern art

Medieval Art of Sri Lanka (Gajasinghe) in Quilling

Gajasinghe is a drawing of a mythical creature, which is part lion & part elephant. This dates back to the period we had kings ruling our nation somewhere in 377 BC or even before.It was in 1505 that the foreigners invaded our country and the end of Kings ruling. Mythical lions paintings at that period was common as the then Sinhala people in our country believed that they were descendants of  a lion and a human girl, who had a son and daughter together. The Lion symbol plays a major role, to date, in our country and is seen in our country flag too. These old paintings can be found even today in ancient temple walls. The colouring they used at the time must have been excellent cause even many centuries later the paintings are still visible.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              I enjoy turning and twisting the strips as I have got used to doing it now. So expect more of these pictures cause I intend doing more of these medieval paintings of Sri Lanka in quilling

Hansa puttuwa (Entwined Swans)

                Hansa Puttuwa is a traditional and a very important & popular motif coming down from ancient Sri Lanka. May be from the Anuradhapura Era. Probably around the 4th century BC. This motif is commonly used at traditional Sinhala Buddhist weddings, from Jewelry to back drop decorations at wedding ceremonies.The stage (Poruwa) where the couple stands for the rituals,  is decorated with this motif using various raw material like coconut palms or flowers in a very rich manner. The brides necklace is often in silver or gold, engraved with this motif.                                                                                                                                      I have quilled it in line art or graphic method. I would call it creative quilling. The paper of course is A4 and the strips are 1/8 inches. It took me some time cause it wasn't easy to twist the strip to shape. Hope you enjoy it. Happy quilling till I come again :)

Graphic Quilling of "Navanari Kunnaraya"

Navanari Kunna Raya - decorative elements of the Kandyan period

The history of Sri Lanka begins around 30,000 years ago when the island was first inhabited. Chronicles, including the Mahavamsa, the Dipavamsa, the Culavamsa and the Rajavaliya, record events from the beginnings of the Sinhalese monarchy in the 6th century BC; through the arrival of European Colonialists in the 16th century; and to the disestablishment of the monarchy in 1815. Some mentions of the country are found in the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the books of Gautama Buddha's teachings. Buddhism was introduced in the 3rd century BC by Arahat Mahinda (son of the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great).

From the 16th century, some coastal areas of the country were ruled by the Portuguese, Dutch and British. Sri Lanka was ruled by 181 kings from the Anuradhapura to Kandy periods. ^[1] After 1815 the entire nation was under British colonial rule and armed uprisings against the British took place in the 1818 Uva Rebellion and the 1848 Matale Rebellion. Independence was finally granted in 1948 but the country remained a Dominion of the British Empire.

A little bit about my country taken from  "History of Sri Lanka - WIKIPEDIA" in order to understand my picture. For centuries starting from the stone age people have been artist in my country. This picture was a painting done by artists in the 16th century during the reign of our last king known as the Kandyan Period. It is formed by 9 women to the shape of an elephant. I did it in quilling. Hope you enjoy it without a head ace cause I had one when I was quilling it .lol.