Artist:Fiona Carruth,Sheffield,UK

Third Gallery Summary

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About Fiona Carruth's Unique Furniture

Decoupage (or découpage) is the art of decorating an object by sticking paper cut outs onto it in combination with special effects, such as gold leaf, paint, etc. Usually a small object like a box or picture frame or an item of furniture is covered with pictures cut from magazines or books or from specially designed papers (creating a type of collage effect). Each layer is sealed with varnishes (often multiple coats) until the 'stuck on' appearance disappears and the result starts to look like painting or inlay work. The traditional technique used 30-40 layers of varnish which were then sanded to a polished finish. It is an Ancient technique, which was popularised in this country by the Victorians.
I generally work on smaller pieces of furniture, and a piece can take me up to two weeks to complete. I use several overlapping layers and literally hundreds of images, and then usually two layers of pva glue, two to three layers of French Polish and three to four layers of lacquer or other waterproof clear varnish (to create real depth).

Guardian Angel Cabinet

Girl With The Pearl Ear-Ring

Parisian Dining Table

Ancient Myths Folding Table

I Walk In The Path Of The Ancients

Sun And Moon Coffee Table

Each piece is a unique object d-arte, as well as a functional object. The finish on each piece will depend on many different factors (including the condition of the object when it comes to me, the type of paper and images I use, the time between varnishes and paints, and so on.
I have to wait a day between each layer of pva, and a day between each layer of paint or lacquer, so the whole process is quite time consuming, but very rewarding as it produces such enchanting results. I also enjoy looking out for new themes and images to use, and interesting objects to give a new lease of life to.

Artist Fiona Carruth

I completed my BA in Fine Art (Combined and Media) six years ago, and have since been developing my Art practice in my studio here in Sheffield.
Over the years I have worked with sculpture,puppet and mask-making, photography, film, video, digital and performance Art, but my real passion has always been drawing and sketching and painting.
My favoured medium is acrylics or oils and pastels, and I most enjoy working on large canvasses. I also do a lot of pecil and charcoal work, and occasionally use melted wax - to create interesting and colourful organic and abstract forms.
Most of my inspiration comes from Ancient mythology, folklore, fairy-tales, and images of spirituality.
I have also been inspired by the great masters, and pre-raphaelites and the movements of abstract Expressionism, Surrealism and Symbolism.
I also like to bring images of my dreams and personal experiences into my work, and I have a love of travel and anthropology and a desire for blending symbols, creatures and archetypes from different countries, and cultures.
Recently I have been concentrating more on figurative work, and have completed several commissioned portraits. These have included an Expressionist style portrait of a woman as a goddess of fertility, a Sun-God, and several pre-raphaelite- inspired portraits.
I am available for (and happy to do) commissions. I enjoy being given new challenges and new subjects and ideas to work with.