A&A Art-e-facts: Decoupage

Did you know that decoupage was thought to originate in East Siberian with nomadic tribes decorating burial tombs.  It is then believed to have become popular in China where it was used a lot by the 12th century, followed by Venice, Italy by the 17th century.

Someone who does decoupage is known as a decoupeur or “cutter”.

The technique involves using cut outs of interesting/pretty/coloured paper that is glued onto an item and then varnished.  At its height of popularity a decoupeur may use as many as 30-40 layers of varnish which was sanded to a polished finish, giving the impression that the paper beneath was painted.

Today decoupage is gaining popularity and instead of varnish, PVA glue can be applied to give a protection and waterproof finish.  A tool called a brayer will assist with smoothing out the wrinkles during the application of gluing the paper, however an alternative to a brayer can be a readily available popsicle stick!

Decoupage gives a unique finish to items and as well as being fun to do, is only limited by your creative imagination – why not have a go?



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