Decoupage

Sessions:  2
Hrs per Session:  2

Decoupage, meaning “to cut out” in French, is a decorative art form involving glued paper cutouts, often enhanced with paint, gold leaf, or varnish. Originating in 17th-century Europe (notably Venice, France, and England), it was inspired by East Asian lacquerware and later became popular worldwide.

Starting as “arte povera” in Venice to imitate luxury lacquer, decoupage grew into a fashionable pastime in Georgian and Victorian England and France. The 20th century made it more accessible through mass production. While secular, it occasionally decorates religious items.

Common motifs include flowers, human figures, animals, vintage prints, and geometric patterns. Styles range from seamless, layered finishes to 3D decoupage. Artists often combine it with painting, stencilling, and gold leaf for a mixed-media look.

The object is cleaned, painted, and decorated with paper cutouts glued and sealed with multiple varnish layers (sometimes 10–30+) for a lacquered finish. Optional sanding and polishing enhance smoothness and shine.

Surfaces include wood, glass, metal, ceramics, etc. Papers range from napkins to specialised decoupage prints. Tools include scissors, knives, brushes, glue, varnish, and embellishments like crackle medium or gold leaf.