Search:

An article on Other Arts and related topics

For additional information and special deals related to some of the items on this article, place your cursor over the double-underlined links. All information supplied by Kontera.com

The Art of Decoupage

By: Eileen Bergen

Decoupage is another very accessible craft for beginners but can also be taken to artistic heights. In fact serious decoupage artists are known as decoupeurs.

There is a National Guild of Decoupeurs (NGD). NGD is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing education in the art of decoupage, to encouraging a high level of quality, and to offering an exchange of creative ideas.

The word “decoupage” comes from the French “couper” meaning “to cut”. Decoupage is the art of permanently decorating surfaces with paper cutouts. The cutouts are glued to the surface and then several coats of varnish, lacquer, glaze or clear-drying glue are applied to give a lacquered finish.

Decoupage ideas are virtually endless but most common are: furniture; wooden boxes and trays of all size and shape; clear glass objects such as plates, platters, bowls, vases, candle holders and paperweights; metal trays and boxes; clay pots; and of course, wall art.

Any theme can be employed, but Victorian decoupage designs are probably the most popular because modern decoupage is a revival of the art that flourished in 18th and 19th century Europe.

The art has a long and fascinating history. In eastern Siberia, cutout felt figures and designs were used to decorate objects found in tombs dating from before the time of Christ.

The art of elaborate cutting seems to have spread from there to China. In 12th century China, paper cutouts were used to decorate windows, lanterns, gift boxes and other objects.

After a while, artisans began applying multiple layers of lacquer to make their work more durable and attractive.

In the late 17th century, lacquer furniture from the Far East became fashionable in Europe. Demand quickly exceeded supply and Venetian cabinet-makers and lacquerers began to copy and change the art form.

At that time, the wealthy were in the habit of commissioning master painters to paint their furniture. It didn’t take long for the decoupeurs to draw copies of masterworks and have prints made for their use. In fact, many antiques formerly believed to have been painted by the masters were later found to have been copies using very skillful decoupage.

Today decoupage still has many practitioners. One of the most famous is Durwin Rice, whose book, “New Decoupage” contains some spectacular examples of modern decoupage, as well as many tips and hints on how to apply artwork to just about any surface you can dream of.

Article Source: http://ezine-articles-planet.com

By: Eileen Bergen. For more information on how to achieve professional results with your decoupage projects, visit The Decoupage Center

Please Rate this Article

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Other Arts Articles Via RSS!

Additional Articles From - Home | Arts | Other Arts

Dream Animation - By : Josephine C. Swann
Steve Harvey Collection - By : James Dalton
Buy a brand new car - By : Slavco Stefanoski
3D Animation in the Entertainment Industry - By : Benicio Brown
Scarlett Johansson - By : qaswer
Douglas and Zeta-Jones To Make Monsoon Film in India - By : Aandaleeb Singh
Bollywood Billionaire Makes Hollywood movie deal - By : Aandaleeb Singh
Ant and Dec in Comedy Awards Scandal - By : Beverley Bukowski
Newcastle Scriptwriter Wins European Gong - By : Beverley Bukowski
Art Canvas Prints Giclee - By : Kaloyan-Veselinov Banev

Authors, Sign Up for a free account or learn more.

	Print This Article
	Post Comment
	Add To Favorites
	Email to Friends
	Ezine Ready

Writers/Authors Submission Guidelines
Member Login
Submit Articles
Most Popular Articles

Publishers Article RSS Feeds
Terms of Service

Free Affiliate Training

Share This Page:

Site Information Link to Us
About Us
Site Blog
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Multi Site Article Search
Links Directory

AdSense Secrets v4.0

First Universal Platnum $7500 Guaranteed

Is This Site Useful?
If you found this site useful, please consider buy the webmaster coffee and get a free link back to your site!

Thanks for your support!

Please Rate and Vote For Us: