With the stroke of a brush. Meet Iraqi artist Fairoozan Abdullah

Growing up in Baghdad, Iraq, Fairoozan Abdullah remembers painting as far back as the age of five. The young artist went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from the College of Fine Arts at the University of Baghdad and teach art in the Iraqi capital for many years. 

At 30, Fairoozan and her family were forced to leave Iraq, however she continued to paint as a refugee in Georgia, Romania, and Yemen. In 2010, a United Nations refugee program allowed her to go to the US. It was after planting roots in South Carolina that Fairoozan began her paper quilling journey. 

The dynamic art form of paper quilling involves taking strips of paper and rolling them into different shapes to create detailed designs. The result looks just like a regular painting, with each strip representing a brushstroke.