Since 1990 I have enjoyed I have enjoyed the privilege of teaching others the art of découpage. I am also on the judging panel for découpage at the Royal Easter Show.

Découpage has become part of my routine. Unfortunately, with my family business, I have very little spare time. I continue to learn and develop my skills. For me découpage is a craft of passion, love and sometimes frustration. What is découpage? The dictionary definition is:

1. the art of decorating a surface with cutout shapes or pictures and then coating the decorated surface with several layers of varnish or lacquer
2. the art produced by decorating a surface with cutouts and then coating it with several layers of varnish or lacquer

Découpage is a fascinating art and delightful hobby. It involves carefully cutting out paper images, assembling and gluing them to almost any prepared surface before applying varnish to give the impression that the object has been hand painted.

Traditional découpage is when many layers of varnish has been used.

The art of self-expression can take many forms, but few are as easy and quick to complete as découpage. There is great pleasure in creating something useful and beautiful and both pride and satisfaction in that accomplishment. Any hard, rigid and smooth surface of wood, glass, ceramic, metal or plastic can be used. You can découpage furniture, picture and mirror frames, vases, urns, candlesticks, bowls and plates. There are many wooden shapes and objects that can be bought ready made. Plastic eggs are available.

We look in gift shops, card and wrap sections of department stores and newsagents, bargain bookshops, art books, photographs and laser coloured photocopies. If there is a picture you want and it is on thick card you can peel the thin, printed layer from the card stock by carefully peeling off a corner of the printed layer which is then supported by wrapping it around a pencil and then slowly and carefully rolling the print layer onto the pencil.

I usually cut out my decorations by using a good quality pair of small scissors with sharp points or a scapel. These cutouts can be sealed with liquitex.

The chosen object is sealed with liquitex or gesso if there are surface imperfections. Once this has dried, the surface is sanded to a very smooth surface and then the decoration begins. To paint a background or add details, acrylic paints such as Matisse or Jo Sonya's can be used. I usually apply this paint using a sponge. Sea sponges are very expensive so I use the cheaper foam sponges. I also use liquitex to glue on the cutouts.

There are two kinds of varnish available. There is a water-based varnish such as Cabot's Crystal Clear and a polyurethane varnish such as Wattyl's Gloss Estapol. It is possible to use shellac as lacquer. The shellac flakes are mixed with methylated spirits to make a lacquer. The yellow/orange shellac flakes discolour but the white flakes are clear. Between coats of varnish or lacquer the object is sanded with wet and dry sand paper with grades of 280, 320, 400, 600, 800 or 1200. To finish the découpaged object you can choose one of the following methods:

• Cut and Polish — Use a cutting compound or cutting polish
• Gloss Finish Method — Rub lightly with fine steel wool grade 0000
• Micro-mesh Method — The kit contains a foam sponge, four grades of fine cushioned abrasive cloths

A Brief History of Découpage

It appears that découpage originated in Venice in the 17th century where it was known as Lacca Povera or poor man's lacquer. It spread to France. The French gave découpage its present name. Découpage came from the French verb découper to cut up or out. Marie Antoinette and the ladies of the Court became so enthusiastic that they cut up everything in sight in their pursuit of the art. It is said the original works of Master Bouche Walthau were not safe from these ladies' scissors.

In England at this time there lived a Mary Delaney who at the age of 75 began to cut out exquisite flowers from coloured paper that she had specially made. The pictures she made were exact in every detail. Without doubt her cutting skills remain unsurpassed. Later on Queen Victoria not only became very good at découpage, but she became an avid collector of découpage.

The vogue for découpage faded in England around the time of the First World War. In France it ceased with the French Revolution. In Vienna, the very heart of its beginnings, no découpage of any note has been produced since Napoleon marched into the City.

When Hiram Manning discovered the technique of Découpage in France after World War Two, he and his mother began to teach it in the USA. They added their own techniques. Eventually a National Guild of Découpeurs was formed in the USA in 1971. Hiram Manning through his book Manning on Découpage was largely responsible for the introduction of découpage to all of America.

In the 20th century, the most famous pair of scissors belonged to Henri Matisse. Both Matisse and Dali used paper cutouts in their works of art.

In Australia we have been fortunate indeed to have great teachers such as Val Lade and Nerida Singleton. Our Découpage has been able to develop without any rigid outside influences because of our isolation. I believe Australia has the best découpage in the world.