Crafts and Hobbies #62: Decoupage

When I hear the word "decoupage," I can't help but think of those Victorian-style flowers Modge Podged onto wooden trays. Not really my style. But I guess the craft can also be a work of art if you consider these really beautiful poster chairs from Jonathan Fong. I think they're very hip and trendy and I'd probably try some from posters of my fave artist, Marc Chagall. The last time I decoupaged was probably in the '60's when my sister and I used magazine pictures to decorate cigar boxes to be used as treasure or jewelry containers. Those were days aimed at keeping busy over the summer but also an attempt to flex our artistic chops. In between papier maché-ing balloons to be painted and made into masks, and decorating cardboard boxes with racing car flames, there were clay figures and pencil sketches. I was fortunate to have an artist sister and artist/teacher aunt as family members to help guide me but I wouldn't hesitate to dive into a simple project like this without supervision. It's basically glueing pictures onto a smooth surface and covering it with a sealant. You just have to decide whether to go classic or kitsch.