SIECLE hosts Stéphanie Miguet

At the end of April, SIÈCLE Paris welcomes Stéphanie Miguet, an expert in cut-out paper, around an exhibition that celebrates Paris and this illustrious technique of decoupage, everything we love! From April 20, for 15 days discover her work, city scenes and poetry, small delicate formats or custom orders.
We are already won over and we are waiting for you on April 20 at 24 rue du Bac to introduce you to Stéphanie and her work.

STÉPHANIE MIGUET TELLS ABOUT HER PASSION

"I discovered decoupage in 2006. It was love at first sight, but also a promise: I was going to rediscover one of my great childhood pleasures. Cutting paper, the simplest way in the world. Yes, that’s what I was going to do now...

When I discovered the tradition of Swiss decoupage, I was first amazed to see that this popular art was so alive. At the time, I was «at the end of a cycle» in my work as a textile artist, and I was looking for an even simpler and lighter mode of expression. I dreamed of being a nomadic artist who would only need a few tools and who could create everywhere. In reality, I am rather sedentary but what a pleasure to be able to work in a very small space, at home, or in a holiday home, or at the very place of my exhibitions! The economy of means and the simplicity of the decoupage is for me synonymous with an incredible freedom.

Since that day when I rediscovered the decoupage I have not stopped working, or rather I should say, having fun. It is a great chance to have found my mode of expression, my language.

I have always been passionate about popular arts. (I have a slight preference for the American definition of “Folk Art” which is broader than the French definition, because it also encompasses naive art, among others. ) I am especially fascinated by everything that artistic and personal can be created with simple and ordinary materials. I did not study at the Beaux-Arts, I am self-taught and creation has always been part of my daily life. It took me a while to tell myself that this was the path that suited me, a kind of crossroads. A truant school of Fine Arts, made up of dazzling encounters, trial and error, freedom, again and again.

Decoupage is a world revealed in a sheet of paper. It is the cousin of shadow theaters, magic lanterns, garlands and «Chinese» shadows that are made in the evening on the walls of the house. There are cutters in the streets of big cities who can make your silhouette: in Montmartre, in the New York subway, and everywhere in Asia of course. It is a modest art but its applications are endless!

The paper is for me a great space of narration and freedom and I love nothing more than telling stories. Little by little, I learned to overcome the technical difficulties linked to this art, I found my «method». Like the engravers, I work constantly thinking about what material to remove, and avoiding the fatal gesture that would spoil the final result! But the magical moment when I turn over my sheet of paper to see my finished work, with the light streaming through, is worth all the effort to me."

Discover her web site : stephaniemiguet.com.