Lisa Nilsson was born in Masschusetts in 1963 and received a BFA in illustration from Rhode Island School of Design in 1985.
She makes sculptures from Japanese mulberry paper and the gilded edges of old books by a technique of rolling and shaping narrow strips of paper called quilling or paper filigree.
Quilling was first practiced by Renaissance nuns and monks using the edges of worn out bibles, and was later adopted by ladies in the eighteenth century as a decadent pastime. Nilsson finds rendering the densely squished paper very satisfying and Inspired by her recent medical training has quilled a series depicting cross sections of the human body.
Her work has been exhibited nationwide, including most recently at Lavender Door Gallery in her native Massachusetts.
"Lisa Nilsson is probably one of my favorite artists. Her splendid quilled paper anatomy pieces made my jaw drop the first time I saw them, and it's been so exciting to see the attention her work has gotten over the past few months."