I can across Lisa Nilsson’s work in an article on Visual News about her anatomical quilling.
Quilling is a practice that traces back at least to the Renaissance, in which strips of paper are rolled into shapes, usually around a quill — hence the name, and glued together to create designs, ornaments and images.
It turns out that the technique, in Nilsson’s hands, seems to be well suited for the depiction of anatomical cross-sections.
In investigating her website, I found that the Tissue Series, as she titles it, is one of several directions in which Nilsson works. Others include Boxes, assemblages in the tradition of the Dadaists, Small Paintings and Greeting Card Illustration (note that most images are linked to larger versions).
The anatomical quilling seems a natural outgrowth of her studies, which include training in illustration, medieval manuscript illumination, painting and certification as a medical assistant.
Her paintings, which are often quite small in scale — around 5×7″ (13x18cm) to 8×10 (20x25cm), are done in gouache on paper.
