Contemporary paper cuttings with heron and star design by Krystyna Majewska from Gdansk Poland
Polish paper-cuttings In 17th and 18th century in Polish towns paper-cuttings were used to impress stamps onto official documents. Peasant paper-cuttings of a purely decorative character developed in 19th century when coloured and shinny paper became available. Displayed on white washed walls and beams they created colourful and joyful decorations for even the most modest interior. In different parts of Poland, distinctive forms of paper-cuttings developed. Cutting into a paper folded once, creates uniaxial paper-cuttings in the form of a stylised lily (leluja) or a tree. Squares and diamonds are achieved by folding the paper twice. The round, circular, star and rosette shapes are produced by folding the paper three or more times. The some element mirrored once or several times, subordinated to one or more axis of symmetry, creates a rich, rhythmic composition. At Christmas and Easter spring-cleaning, the walls were whitewashed and new decorations replaced the old. Those which were too good to throw away were moved to stables and barns to make the life of the animals more joyful too. Here the both paper-cuttings was made from one sheet of A4 paper. After cutting out rosette left over element dictated design of the bottom part. Krystyna Majewska 27 February 1998
Size: 4090px × 6299px
Photo credit: © Krystyna Szulecka / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: art, craft, cultural, culture, cut, cutting, decoration, decorative, design, designs, folk, folklore, gdansk, green, handicraft, herons, krystyna, majewska, object, paper, paper-cut, paper-cutting, paper-cuttings, papercut, papercutting, papercuttings, polska, polski, stylized, symmetrical, symmetry, white, wycinanka, wycinanki
