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Chinese Silhouettes

Paper that is fine enough to write on, or to make cut-out patterns, such as the one in this project, was invented in China about A.D. 105. Arts flourished as the Empire became more stable during the Seng Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty. Paintings appeared on walls, screens, fans and scrolls of silk and paper. Sometimes just a few brush strokes could capture the spirit of a subject.

For this project, you will need:

Thick eight and a half by eleven inch colored paper, pencil and small sharp scissors.

1. Take a piece of brightly colored paper and lay it flat out on a hard work surface. Fold it in half widthwise and make a firm crease along the fold as shown.

2. With a pencil draw a Chinese style design onto the paper. Make a solid border around the nonfolded edges.

3. Keeping the paper folded cut out the shapes you have drawn. Make sure not to cut along the edges of the shapes on the fold. Cut away areas you want to discard in between the shapes.

4. Open up the paper, taking care not to tear it. To add details to the cut-out figures, fold each figure in half seperately. Pencil in the details to be cut along the crease.

5. Carefully, cut out the details you have marked along the crease. The cut-out details will be matched perfectly on the other side of the figure when you open the paper.

You can display the design by sticking it to a window so that light shines through. In China, paper cutouts are beleived to bring luck and good fortune.