The History of Silhouette Art and Silhouette Artists
 

 A silhouette is everything and nothing.  It is the positive and the negative. When done correctly, it is "a monument to a moment", when done poorly, it disappears into the background, and is a minimal of all that could be.
The history of silhouettes show how the art of the image in simple black form or white form on black, is addictive to the artist who created it. History was made when American silhouette artist Cindi Harwood did 144 silhouettes in one hour for a world record.
The silhouette is not the shadow, our shadow is a distortion of blocked light.  A good silhouette (once called a shade) is your positive light and personality, interpreted by a skillful artist.

There are many ways that this has been done in time.  Most feel that with the invention of paper in China, in the twelth century..  Others claim that the roots of the silhouette is traced to the black profiles on ancient Greek and Etuscan pottery.  The Greek term was shiagraphia which means shadow painting.  People are amazed by a shadow, which appears to change as you move, often having a life of its own.  The first artist thought to have done a tracing of a shadow was Dibutade (some say debutante is derived from her name), the daugher of a potter in fl. 600 BC. She traced her lover's shadow to remember him while he was on a journey.

As a silhouette artist, Cindi Harwood Rose, has many people tell her that her works which are hand-cut and not traced, remind them more of their loved ones than a photo does.  As they are displayed in a home, or in a movie, they serve as a reminder of a loved one, and a precious moment.  

Silhouettes also remind people of shadow puppets which were popular in Turkey and the Middle East from the eleventh to the thirteenth century.  Some of these religious and spiritual puppet shows have leather pieces imported from India, and often termed Wayang, which also sounds like the word Bayang, the Japanese word for shadow or imagination.  This puppetry also became popular in France in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and was called Les ombres noires. 

The first silhouette known to be hand-cut in a portrait form is by a Mrs. Pyburg in the late seventh century, in England.  She did King William and Queen Mary.  Some say it was around 1670. The silhouettes were called profile miniatures or shades.  They are never to be life-sized as the wall tracings are that school teachers and crafts people do.  The little silhouette which is around 2 to 3 inches high, is the most desired size.   

The term silhouette is derived from a French minister of finance called Etienne de Slhouette, 1709-1767.  He was a very strict in finance and cut expenses.  The name silhouette was applied to him by Augustine Edourt, a French prolific silhouette artist.  Edourt's silhouettes are often copied and were used to tell history by the many elaborate settings, and of the subjects he did full figure silhouettes of.  

More of the history will be continued later or you can check it out in full detail on SilhouettesbyCindi.com and Peggy McClard Antiques.

 

Hire a wedding silhouette artist for your wedding reception, and entertain your guests while you give them all a historical keepsake! A wedding silhouette artist, feels blessed to have been given this wonderful gift of being able to capture a likeness of loved ones in minutes. They can normally do many things, such as paint, cook, build, draw, sing, act, write, but all have chosen to cut silhouettes because of the immense pleasure others feel when they get the immediate first impression profile cut portrait. Many people live an entire life and have not met one of the less than 38 real silhouette artists in the entire world. One silhouette artist Cindi Harwood, claims there were only 13 when she started. By, the way, that is me, and now I am Cindi Rose, silhouette artist for weddings! My father was an attorney, and great speaker, which allows me to be able to communicate with others (think stage, film, TV, commercials and reality TV). My mother was a portrait artist and paper cutter, and architectural designer. The talent just came to me, as it did to many other fine silhouette artists. At the wedding, we normally work from a table, and two or three chairs, and a waste basket. We use our eyes to see the profile, so none of us like to work in the dark. Some silhouette artists travel with a lamp to assure the area is not dark. I carry silhouette samples, and normally have pre-cut the bride and groom, and display that on my table. Often the whole wedding theme is silhouette art of the bride and groom. I have gone further and have made silhouette table cloths, and silhouette hankies, silhouette cookie cutters, and napkins. Depending on the artist's speed, they cut from 12 to 20 profiles per hour. I can do 30 to 50, depending on if I have an assistant with me to help paste. We normally make the wedding great, and keep all guests happy. It is entertainment and a gift. I try not to talk about myself, as everyone wants to know "how did you learn that." The answer is I never did learn it. I just did it! I first could draw portraits and was hired to do that for a Walt Disney theme park owner in an amusement park. After seeing the magical talent of a silhouette artist, I anxiously asked if I could try this skill. My first attempt to cut a silhouette gave me the job, Disneyland Silhouette Artist, on Main Street in California, and at Astroworld, in Houston, Texas. For a teenager, this was better than the best date at the prom. On your wedding day, your silhouette artist, will come with an open heart, surgical scissors, and often a guest book to place a second copy of each silhouette they cut, signed by the guests for you to keep. They will have pretty clear bags to give your guests to carry their own silhouettes, or string them on the wall from a clothes line, or from ribbons to add charm to your lovely wedding. To hire me for your silhouette wedding, merely go to GigMasters, or try to find my e-mail on-line. It is actually CindiSilhouettes@gmail.com

The Best Wedding Entertainment Idea can be silhouette artist such as CindiSilhouettes on Pinterest. You are engaged! Congrats! Will you elope, have a huge wedding, and compile your list?  Such questions will cross your mind" what is your budget, do you want a destination wedding, who is your best man, maid-of-honor, where is the venu, what music do you want-- DJ or band, classical, rock, traditional, cultural?  What is the color theme, and the overall theme? Will there be flowers, how elaborate? Will you put out family photos and make a video? How large? Open bar and/or signature drink? Do you need the wedding planner?
Where do you cut back expenses? Do you want to rent, borrow, your wedding dress and suit, or buy new? What will make your wedding special besides your vows and loves? Will there be a dessert bar, party favors?  Will you make a photo wall of both families photos? What are the gifts to the wedding party?
 Great solution! Just have a silhouette themed wedding. Hire a silhouette artist for your wedding.  A wedding silhouette artist!  For more information, look at silhouettesbycindiblogspot and silhouettesbycindi.com  Silhouette artist Cindi Rose can profile in paper 2 silhouettes of each guest -- one for each guest and one for a guest book for them to sign and you to keep. Cindi Rose silhouette artist does pre-silhouettes for you to use for your theme. Easily it can be put on water bottles, mints, chocolates, and napkins, even swizzle sticks for signage. This costs the same as a great photo booth, and lasts generations to come. It is more fun than a band, and the guests are entertained. A talented silhouette artist is hard to find. Silhouette artist Cindi Rose can do 30 to 40 detailed silhouettes per minute. If you opt for something else, think harpist or classical duo prior to the wedding during cocktail hour. You can get creative with a wishing wall or Orgami artist. A silhouette artist at your wedding is very cool, and some are very modern, yet classic. Check around, but remember to always love one another and don't fight! Love, Cindi, your silhouette artist guru and life coach to love and happiness.

Naked silhouettes, just pure natural talent

Naked silhouettes! Raw, pure, paper + talent = art, so simple. You are born with no clothes, but there is a plan for you. Whomever you are you are shaped to do something for the world. You may not realize that your talents need not be earth shaking, they just need to support the earth, and bring sexy
silhouettes that show your sparkle.
Sexy silhouettes are ones where you wear
your own brand of fabulous self, and the
#silhouettesbycindi.com captures your
style, stamp, uniqueness.  It is the favorite
way to make the silhouette a WOW factor.
#Thehistoryofsilhouetteart shows
personality and feature +soul. That is
how you tell quality, and by detail and
speed.  The greatest silhouette artists in
history were fast, and the cut lines are
smoother. The scissors flys like a spark
and the emblem created speaks volumes
to you.  #Silhouetteartistry is magic!
It creates. . . . . . .
happiness to others, in pure, loving way.

How to find a leading, authentic, silhouette artist

Great silhouette examples from the works of leading silhouette artist Cindi Harwood Rose

If you are wondering how to find a great silhouette artist, there are many ways.  The best is to research on the internet and compare the works.  Make sure they did not tell you that placing paper on a wall and tracing a shadow is an authentic silhouette!  The silhouette art, once called a "shade" was done before the camera and overhead projecter existed.  Here is a quick, quirky history:

Only the very wealthy could afford their likeness to be painted or drawn by a great artist, as seen in the museums.  In most cases, the subject may have been "spoiled" and living an idle life.  This was great for the artist!  The artist had to spend hours, days, weeks with the person drawing and painting them.  Often, they were a resident of the estate, while doing the elaborate, and detailed painting. Many times the subject would fall "in love" with the artist, as seen in the movie, "The Girl with the Pearl."  Or vise-versa.   Sometimes, the artist was bored, to be honest, having to paint someone (the same person) for months.  Around 500 years ago very crude scissors were invented, and an artist roughly cut the first profile from paper.  The exact moment this happened varies as to whose history of silhouette art you are reading.  Soon (but we are talking late 1700's and early 1800's) it was discovered that the artist could earn the same amount of money (or more) and meet more people, have more fun traveling cutting silhouettes!  They could do paper profile cuttings of a family at a time with all the relatives and friends included.  They did this by looking if they were talented.  If they were less talented, they made a quick sketch then, cut that out.  The reason that is not as great for a likeness is that, it means they lost some of the real details in translation.  I am now ending my rambling history, as you can go to SilhouettesbyCindi.com and get the exact, real history!

To find your super, fabulous, detailed, noted, high-quality silhouette artist, make sure they say they cut directly from the paper.  Hopefully they use real silhouette paper which is white on one side and black on the other.  This allows for more details as it is very thin paper!  Make sure they can do the fancy silhouettes of groups, not just single silhouettes one by one pasted down on a sheet.  Note on my examples the doubles and triples cut from one paper.  That is what you want from your artist, one who can do that!  You also want one who does not just do a boring, generic, all black silhouette.  Make sure their work is clean looking, and not as though they rough cut it.  There are some great silhouette artists around, and you should try many of them.  They all will add a different interpretation of you.  Some are psychic (yes, I did say that), like well, I am.  So, if you are lucky, they can inspire you for not a dollar more and tell you some great way you can capture your everyday dreams.  For more fun info, please see SilhouettesbyCindiblogspot, and join SilhouettesbyCindiFacebook.  I really go into a more sophisticated description of the art.  In the meantime, take care of your silhouette (body and mind), hug yourself and be good to others.  Silhouette sweet hugs to you!  Love, your silhouette guru, Cindi!