Miranda Guillory is the artist/owner of The Paper Quillory where she creates beautiful and playful works of art with strips of colorful paper and glue.

Miranda loves playing with paper and exploring its many possibilities. Quilling is the art of creating filagree from rolled bits of paper and has been around since the Renaissance, when nuns and monks would roll gold-gilded paper remnants trimmed during the bookmaking process. They would use them to decorate religious objects as an alternative to gold filigree. 

Miranda lives with her husband David near downtown Elgin.

1. Why did you move to Elgin? 

Our rent was going up and up in Austin so we started looking to put all that money towards something we could own.  We quickly learned that we wouldn’t be able to afford to buy in Austin.  We looked for months in just about every town on the outskirts of our emerald city, looking for something that we could feel really good about, our forever home.  We finally found it in Elgin.  My husband and I moved here almost 6 years ago and haven’t looked back.  

We love the small town atmosphere and the burgeoning creative scene.

2. What compels you to spend time creating?

Oh, I just have to.  I get this anxious need to make something. Anything. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for quilling and I’ll just stare at all of my art supplies, maybe skim through some art books, until I find something manageable for the moment.  I’m not very good at sitting still and have to at least be moving my hands.  I find very few things more satisfying than creating something beautiful out of nothing.  

I also have a tendency to feel my emotions pretty intensely and I find paper quilling, specifically, to be a very meditative process.  It’s surprisingly time consuming and I’ll get lost in it for hours, feeling grounded and peaceful once I’m finished.

3. Tell me three things you’ve learned in the past five years.

I’ve learned that just because something I create isn’t my favorite, doesn’t mean it wont be someone else’s.  I used to trash a piece if I didn’t like where it was headed half-way through.  I thought that everything I put out into the world had to be, in my mind, a masterpiece.  Over time I’ve discovered that some of my least favorite works might make someone else smile, or feel seen.  

I’ve learned that I’m no use to anyone if I don’t take care of myself.  When I’m stressed or burnt out, when I feel unhealthy, when I don’t take care of my head and heart,  I can’t REALLY show up for my work or my relationships.  It’s hard to put yourself first.  I wasn’t raised that way.  I’ve had to learn what those little things are that feed my soul and I’ve had to learn to put them in my schedule.  I’ve had to learn that it isn’t selfish. When I take care of me, I’m better equipped to take care of the people I love and to take on the world (or at least my little corner of it). 

Most recently, I’ve learned how much I need to be physically around my family and friends.  I am an introvert.  I LOVE being home.  It’s my safe space and all my favorite things are here.  I like going out but I’ve always kind of had to pump myself up for it.  Now that I’ve been forced to stay home I am desperate to see people face to face.  I miss hugging, high fives, and giving back-scratches.  I have often said that I need to be home or I need to be alone.  Turns out I also need to be around people.

4. What are you currently making, reading, watching, or listening to?

I’m usually working on a few projects at a time.  Right now I’m doing a commissioned paper quilling of a vulva.  I’m also playing around with a sunflower design.  And I just about always have a breast or two in the works.

Currently on my nightstand:  The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover by Kinky Friedman, Gorey’s Worlds by Erin Monroe, and The Show Won’t Go On The Most shocking, Bizarre, and Historic Deaths of Performers Onstage  by Jeff Abraham and Burt Kearns.

Watching just about everything on Netflix and Hulu currently have to offer. Just finished Letterkenny, Ozark, and Baskets (I HIGHLY recommend this one).

I’m listening to a lot more KUTX lately.  They seem to be playing all their best stuff now that more people have time to listen.  We recently got a puppy, so I took up running again and LCD Soundsystem has been helping me through that.

5. Cake or Pie?

Oh, pie for sure.

The Paper Quillory on Etsy
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