Sweet Silhouettes, something for everyone!
Silhouettes are such elegant distillations — like the tree in the clipping above, which is such a beautiful representation of a tree. I clipped the image above out of an Air France magazine last year — I thought it was such a smart use of silhouettes (and the jewels are gorgeous, too).
While on vacation, we stayed at my cousin’s lake house, known to the family as Pickle Pine. For as long as I can remember and a good deal longer than that, there have been silhouettes on the walls there. Similar to the wonderwalls I blogged about yesterday, hanging multiples on your walls is a nice way to highlight family or collections — in this case, both. These silhouettes below are all of family members through various generations. A nice alternative to family snapshots.
If traditional silhouettes don’t do it for you, check out Karl Johnson’s work (top image above) I love the armadillo (very fresh) and on his site. He’ll do custom silhouettes of your pets, children, home! The bottom image is a fabric from Quadrille’s “Paradise Background” in Tinted Linen which is yet another way to include silhouettes in your home. Finally, for the lazy, check out moooi.com for their “Pantheon” throw, which would be perfect for picnics or a late summer dinner party tablecloth.
I found this silhouette above in an antiques place in New Hampshire — around a hundred years old, it was selling for $190, which was too expensive for my cheap self. And, the dead soldiers are a little creepy on the bottom right. Once you’ve got your eye out for them, its amazing where silhouettes turn up and to see the real diversity of images artists make with just paper and scissors.
One last project that I’ve been meaning to make since the day I saw it in Martha uses iron-on transfers and totebags. If you have more great silhouettes, send them my way and I’ll post them up here and on Flickr.
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July 18th, 2007 16:59
did you know I designed a whole papercut tarot deck back in the day? Thea’s tarot.
Anyway- check out jewish papercuts tooo.
July 18th, 2007 22:24
Ruth, no surprise there — you’re amazing. Send me pictures and I’ll post them! XOXO Abbey
October 2nd, 2007 10:53
[...] lovely with lots of attention to detail. The artist here is Karl Johnson, whose amazing work I’ve blogged about before. Some of you have asked how to make your own silhouettes and via the Jane Austen [...]
December 11th, 2007 13:23
[...] blogged Karl Johnson’s silhouettes here and just got notified that Daily Candy has a 25% off coupon on his custom ones — just send [...]