apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time


Silhouettes: An Old-School Craft That's Still Cool


We've been noticing a lot of silhouettes in our house tours lately. We thought they'd disappeared but they seem to be making a resurgence. They're cool, graphic and easy to do yourself, given a bit a patience, a little time, a strong light and a willing subject...

 
 

Or, of course, there are a number of websites that will transform a photo for you, like Simply Silhouettes, which we've blogged about before. Try the traditional, cameo-style profile or, perhaps, something a little more contemporary. And, as we've seen from our house tours, they look great in groupings.

Tags

inspiration, artwork, craft, silhouette

Related Links

Share

Comments (10)

Reminds me of Girl Scouts!

posted by clampers on September 10th 2009 at 1:36pm
view clampers's profile

There was a company that made silhouettes by turning a large piece of wood and making a silhouette out of the negative space, like the vase/faces illusion. The original wood piece was cylindrical, so the negative-space silhouette went all the way around. I wish I could remember the name of the company and post a link - they made really beautiful gifts.

posted by michelle123 on September 10th 2009 at 1:53pm
view michelle123's profile

Found it!
http://turnyourhead.com/

posted by michelle123 on September 10th 2009 at 2:18pm
view michelle123's profile

My aged aunt had them going up a stairway. They creeped me out as a child. I must have been scarred for life, because they still do.

posted by mjs7640 on September 10th 2009 at 2:22pm
view mjs7640's profile

I got one one my trip to Disneyland. I was charmed by it. Where oh where could it be?

posted by jen_g on September 10th 2009 at 2:58pm
view jen_g's profile

Hey, Max was introduced to silhouettes at Disneyland, too. I wish I knew where my little one is . . .

posted by jen_g on September 10th 2009 at 3:06pm
view jen_g's profile

I had some pet portraits made as a gift by Miss Crowland on Etsy. SO much better than trying to do them myself.

http://misscrowland.blogspot.com/

posted by legallybrunette on September 10th 2009 at 3:19pm
view legallybrunette's profile

A man named Guy Jones did silouettes at the Minnesota State Fair back in the day. I still have a couple of me around age 4.

posted by aj on September 10th 2009 at 3:49pm
view aj's profile

i like the idea but as i'm not on speaking terms with my large polish nose this would never work for me.

posted by the polish chick on September 10th 2009 at 4:47pm
view the polish chick's profile

I've sold off most of my "Nightmare Before Christmas" stuff, but I still display my Jack and Sally silhouettes (from Disneyland) year-round.

posted by Stiletto on September 10th 2009 at 5:08pm
view Stiletto's profile