Silhouettes: Reflections
Reflection by Kiarra Burd
Silhouettes tend to be immediately recognisable as an object associated with the Victorian period, but I had not considered the implications behind this craft until making one myself. Through making a silhouette of my partner, I feel as though I have come to a deeper understanding of why Victorian households used silhouettes as a way to commemorate loved ones during a period when photographs were expensive and difficult to produce.
The most troublesome part of making the silhouette was getting my subject to sit completely still. Even though my partner usually has no difficulties with this, the slightest movement shifts the entire shadow. It was hard not to create an outline that distorted my subject, forcing us both to take our time and resist the desire to rush the process.
Before personally trying to make a silhouette, I assumed that Victorians used them as a frivolous way to pass time or as a poor substitute for photography. However, it quickly dawned on me how these thoughts had been influenced by my modern perspective. After further reflection, I realised how intimate the experience can actually be and why Victorians may have been drawn to it. Not only did I have to sit patiently with a loved one and direct their movements, but in tracing their silhouette, I noticed features of their appearance that I had not observed before. Unexpectedly, the outline became sentimental to me very quickly and I resolved to display it in our home shortly after finishing it.
Making a silhouette is also an interesting way to see how someone wants to present themselves; for instance, when I told my partner to sit for the silhouette, he donned his favourite jacket and fixed his hair. Additionally, the reaction my partner had to seeing his profile in such a foreign fashion was gratifying because it felt as though he was recognising himself a way he hadn't before. While the process of making a silhouette is very easy and approachable, it revealed some fascinating undercurrents about the way we preserve the images of our loved ones, and the conscious choices we make to portray selective aspects of our appearance. Though the process is brief, I would recommend savouring it.
Reflection by Rebekah Stretch
Silhouettes are known for their accessibility and simplicity, but as I engaged with paper and shadow, I was surprised to discover that creating a silhouette led to many insights into Victorian culture. When I worked on this project, I created two silhouettes, one that I drew with my Mom as my model, and vice versa. In hindsight, I am so thankful that I took the extra time to act not only as the silhouette artist but also as the subject. Both roles showed me the frustrating and fickle nature of light and shadow and how even the smallest movement of the model’s head could quickly skew the accuracy of the image being drawn. What struck me most as I sat modeling was how crucial stillness and patience must have been for Victorian artists and makers, particularly when creating something as elusive as a silhouette. In today’s culture of frenetic motion and instant gratification, stillness is becoming a lost art.
Sitting still and silent for even the five minutes it took for my Mom to capture my shadow on paper took an almost embarrassing amount of concentration. As I sat resisting the urge to fidget in my chair, it became abundantly clear to me that I participate in virtually no activities that require absolute stillness in my day-to-day life. For the Victorians, however, it would have been an almost unspoken assumption that sitting quiet and still as a subject would be necessary for an artist to produce a likeness of any quality.
Victorian photographs and silhouettes each relied on light and the passage of time, both of which made the motionlessness of the subject of crucial importance. So many little things can go awry when relying on the steadiness of a human hand, the constancy and direction of light, and the total stillness of a human subject. I cannot imagine trying to create a silhouette of a young, wiggly child, or anyone who is particularly distractible or talkative! The elegance and beauty of Victorian silhouettes is a testament not only to the patience of nineteenth-century artists but also to the concentration and cooperation of their subjects.
Reflection by Lucie von Schilling
The silhouette is a surprisingly challenging craft. I have a new appreciation for silhouettes in which the artist was able to achieve significant detail. For my silhouette piece, I followed Crafting Community research assistant Jacqueline Kublik’s silhouette tutorial. Thank the stars for these instructions because, honestly, I couldn’t begin to wrap my head around how to achieve a silhouette. Perhaps this craft should be intuitive, but for me, it wasn’t. For some reason I thought black paint was involved? Anyway, Jacqueline’s tutorial was super easy to follow and gave a lot of additional information, which I found helpful.
I set out to do a silhouette of my beloved pup, Moemann. He just turned nine and I like to celebrate his beauty as often as I can. Plus, in comparison to my other puppy, Sundae, who is only a year old, Moemann is much more patient and treat motivated. I also recruited my partner, Eric, to help coax (and keep) Moe in a sitting position so I could sketch his shadow’s outline, as Jacqueline instructs. However, as one can imagine, Moe did not want to stay still. He was fairly good, but he repositioned his body every few seconds, which ruined any progress I made. That is to be expected and he did well, considering that it must have been a confusing activity for the little guy. He kept on looking at me like “what? what do you want, mama?” (see photo of Moemann posing next to his sheet of paper with the multiple attempts on it).
Eventually, I scrapped the traditional approach and cheated a little bit. (Is it cheating? I am not sure!) I took photos of Moe’s shadow and uploaded them onto my laptop to trace the outline better. This worked so well! Additionally, I liked the small size of the silhouettes that this method produced. As you can see, all three silhouettes fit in the palm of my hand.
Once I had the silhouettes cut out, I decided to make a little collage with them. I like the idea of an entire pack of wild Moemanns gathering on a flowery field to gaze at the cosmos overhead. My final product fills me with so much joy! I hung it up on my maximalism wall, alongside other art and a few other Crafting Communities projects I’ve done. I love it!
