| Silhouettes
have been a popular papercraft since the mid-18th century
when they first appeared. There are many different variations
on the basic idea of a plain outline and they are all in this
book.
You don’t need lots of expensive art materials, machinery
or even much room to cut silhouettes. I have fond memories
of doing it as a child, including on long car journeys and
on vacation, so was delighted to see a whole book on the subject.
I was also surprised at how many different types of silhouettes
there are, including ones using several different colors of
paper, those with drawn-on features, or added gold paint,
or caricatures and even silhouettes taken with a camera. Each
chapter covers a different technique and gives an outline
of the person who created it or is most associated with it.
There are examples from the artist or from that period, plus
modern versions, and to enable you to have a go, instructions
on how to do it. These are not in many captioned steps, but
have one or two good photographs and plenty of description.
Reading about the early silhouette cutters is fascinating,
and highlights a type of art largely forgotten. The final
section has tips on presenting work and further examples of
how it was done in the past. This is a handsomely produced
book that is sure to give papercrafters a lot of pleasure.
If you cannot find a good range of paper cutting materials
locally, try www.searchpress.com
for a list of suppliers.
|
