Three-Dimensional Decoupage [antikvár]

6 INTRODUCTION Introduction Decoupage is tlie art of decorating surfaces witli applied paper cutouts. The word decoupage comes from the French decouper, which means to "cut out". Motifs are cut from paper and then glued flat onto a surface and heavily varnished so that the edges blend in with the background, almost as if the motif was painted onto the surface. One of the primary goals is to get the motifs as smooth and flat as possible. . The term "three-dimensional decoupage," then, seems to be a - contradiction in terms, since the paper motifs are freestanding and ^ not a part of the surface as they are in traditional decoupage. Unlike two-dimensional decoupage, three-dimensional decoupage gives an effect of depth and volume - in effect a "trompe I'oeil," a - trick of the eye. The composition looks almost lifelike, and has a richness and realism that a flat design would find it impossible to buttons, beads, scraps of fabric and tiny cloth dolls decorate these small notebooks. - compete with. Three-dimensional designer Sheila Sawyer calls the - craft "elevated decoupage." There are differing opinions on the history of decoupage. Some sources say that it is an early European art, dating from the twelfth - and thirteenth centuries, which became popular in seventeenth _ century Venice and then spread throughout Europe. Others say _ that it began in fifteenth century Germany, when printed _ decorative borders simulating the complex Tarsia wood inlay were _ produced for use on furniture, so that from a distance it looked This attractive painted box is embellished " real. Whichever is correct, decoupage remains popular today. with colorful beads and felt scraps. However, many authors on the subject remain convinced that it