How to learn to cut
silhouette profiles from sight
By silhouette artist
Cindi Harwood Rose
When I was a little child, I would sit with
my talented mother, and cut-out Valentine’s, snow-flakes, paper dolls, flowers,
and butterflies. My mother, Doris Harwood, a paper-cutting artist and
architectural designer would also draw portraits, front and side-view. Little
did she know that this practice in contour would prepare her to be a natural in
the fine art of English and French profile hand-cutting, an art difficult to
master, that only a few handfuls of fine artists, are prolific at. You can
look on-line at The Guild of Paper cutters and see a listing of the world’s best
silhouette artists and paper cutters from the past 300 years, and samples of
their works.
As a natural artist, skilled in life drawing,
I got a job in my early teens at an amusement park drawing portraits. While
taking a tour, I saw a silhouette artist—someone cutting out profiles from black
paper freehand without sketching or using a light—and said “I can do that.”
Laughed at, I was handed scissors, and thin black paper. Freehand, without a
sketch, or light, I cut out the manager’s profile, in less than two minutes, and
the prior silhouette artist was fired on the spot. What I did most, was compare
each feature, the same way I would when I draw. I used my scissors as I would
“a thumb” to eyeball the spaces between the features in the subject’s
profile
Silhouette cutting for the Disney art
concessionaire became my summer job, throughout high school and The University
of Texas where I graduated in fine art and journalism. Later, I worked for
Disney World and Disneyland, where I broke park production records doing 600
silhouettes in a day. Soon, I found myself doing silhouettes all over the
world, for many celebrities, families, formal affairs, television shows,
galleries, department stores, and collections. I made a world speed record in
1982, 144 silhouettes of 144 individuals cut-out in one hour, timed by The San
Antonio Express Newspaper.
After a busy career, I married
Franklin Rose, and had two children, Erica and Ben. I used my silhouette art,
as a fund-raiser for their schools, and many philanthropic causes, including
Texas Children’s hospital, The Woman’s Hospital of Texas, The American Heart
Association, The Ronald McDonald House, The Houston Symphony, and The Holly Rose
Ribbon Foundation, a non-profit, I formed with my husband for uninsured cancer
survivors.
Paper-cutting was discovered in northwestern
China around 386-586 AD with Chinese embroidery patterns, for the royal
dynasties. Silhouette-cutting was associated with the royal courts. It was
not uncommon to have a silhouettist employed, capturing every movement of the
entire court. Some paper-cutting artists, told stories, such as Hans Christian
Anderson.
The name silhouette, is from
Etienne de Silhouette, a French minister of Finance, who was dismissed in 1759,
after 9 months in office. He had cut out pensions and luxuries, thus, items
“cut-out” or minimal in expense, reminded people of him. Silhouettes were the
way to have a profile made by an artist, without having to have a portrait
drawn. Oddly, a true silhouette, hand-cut by an artist, is more difficult than
drawing a portrait, and all silhouette artists can draw portraits, but not all
portrait artists can do silhouettes free-hand. There are only around 25 to 50
real silhouette profilist artists in the world, and hand-cut silhouettes, not
computer generated ones, only become more valuable in time. It is not necessary
to have little embellishments in your silhouettes. A good silhouette artist,
will not give everyone the same hair-do and face, they will make you look like
yourself, with the details that express your style.
The beauty of a silhouette is passed down
from generation to generation. Rose has done silhouettes for over 35 years, and
has done generations of families. She prides herself on her likeness’s and
embellishments—the white- cut-outs, when it adds to the profile and the style of
the individual subject. If you are a gifted portrait artist, especially keen
with the profile, you have a good shot at being a real silhouette artist. Not
one who Photoshops, or traces a shadow off a wall, but a person, who can see
features in comparison to other features, and in proportion. You can start by
drawing a profile, around 4 inches high, and cutting it out, or taking profile
photos and cutting them out. Once you figure out how to draw with scissors.
Practice with real people and pets. Wrapping paper is a good medium to begin
with, or computer paper. If you want to make if official, spray paint one side
black, but use the white side to cut from. You can also buy real French
silhouette paper on the internet, or at your favorite art supply store. Barber
and surgical scissors make great tools to use, but are costly. You want to make
sure the scissors you use has a straight edge, so that you can control your
cuts. I like to start cutting from the bottom up, which is different than the
way I draw. For fun, use colored backgrounds and junk mail. It is wonderful
what you can do with
the silhouette and your imagination. Silhouettesbycindi.com
