The Carol Duvall Show camera crew travels to the Stowe Craft Show in Vermont, hosted by the Vermont Handcrafters Inc., to see Carolyn Gorham-Guest's intricate Polish paper cuttings known as wycinanki. Although Gorham-Guest creates her art in a traditional fashion by using large sheep shears, a similar effect and beautiful designs can be achieved by using small pinking scissors or a craft knife.
Wycinanki is an art form dating from the 1800s, when farmers' wives began using cutting implements and materials at hand to make decorations for their cottages. Cuttings were often performed freehand and contained designs depicting rural daily life.
Sheep shears were the most available cutting tool, and white papers were stained with vegetable dyes to enhance and colorize this beautiful folk art. The use of sheep shears to create intricate designs required its own set of skills, which were passed down from mothers to daughters, and occasionally to sons.
Cuttings were hung as curtains, wall and window decorations, and were transformed into ornaments for religious holidays. Each spring, cottage interiors were "whitewashed" and the old cuttings were relocated to the barn for the animals to enjoy. During the third quarter of the century, wycinanki became quite prevalent, with indigenous styles and patterns developing to reflect the history, culture, and folklore of different regions.
Gorham-Guest carries on this time-honored Polish custom with her 13-1/2-inch sheep shears, her freehand reproductions of traditional patterns, and her remarkable talent for original designs.
Resources paper cutting products brochure
Contact guest Carolyn Gorham-Guest
Polish Wycinanki Designs
by Frances Drwal
Stemmer House Publishing, 1984
Order this title from Amazon.com.
Vermont Handcrafters
48th Annual Holiday Craft Show is scheduled for Nov. 16-19, 2000 at the Sheraton Burlington Conference Center in South Burlington, Vt.
Guests Carolyn Gorham-Guest
Wycinanki Expert
459 Old Concord Rd.
St. Johnsbury, VT 05819
Phone: 802-748-5505
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