Friday, June 1, 2012

Severen "à la silhouette"


I ordered a custom silhouette of Severen from the lovely Ellen over at Happy Thought on Etsy and I am so pleased with it. It was a little tricky because a baby head just floating in space actually looks super weird (probably because they don't really have necks). So she worked with me on little things like the angle of Severen's arms, the curve of his chin, etc. and she sent me a draft of his whole body in this pose, which ended up being just perfect. Now I have a PDF that I can have made into a photo, a print or that I can share via email with family and friends. I am so impressed with her service - anyone in the market for a great silhouette should look her up!

Also did you know that the word silhouette comes from an 18th century French finance minister? Apparently, he had the thankless job of imposing a bunch of economic restrictions on the population during a severe credit crisis in the mid 1700s. People associated his name with anything done on the cheap - à la silhouette - or with an eye to frugality. Because outline portraiture was the cheapest way to capture someone's likeness at the time (wealthy people tended to commission a painting or a sculpture), that style came to be known as silhouette. Man that is cool, isn't it?

6 comments:

No Carnations said...

Look at that little nose. Too, too cute : )

oh, albatross said...

it's perfect, and it looks just like him.

and the etymology of "silhouette" is wonderful, thank you so much for sharing that. (total word nerd here, i love to know where they come from!)

steph.kelley said...

The Sev-ou-ette came out great! And oh, how I love a gal who shares French etymologies. Happy Friday morning to you too. :D xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Anonymous said...

This is gorgeous! I love the detail that went into his little whisps of hair.

Wildfell Hall Vintage said...

hey that is super cool! had no idea where that came from but reminded me of my grandmothers silhouettes which I always found kinda fascinating when I was a kid...such a great idea to get one of the wee babe!

Bombshell Bettie said...

that is darling!!! he has such a sweet face. i love that idea, maybe i'll get one for corbin's 6 month photos, i cant believe thats only 2 months away!

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