The extravagant art of decoupage
- Jill has developed her own form of collage on glass
- Her designs draw on centuries of art and architecture
- She delights in creating surprising contrasts
Jill Barnes-Dacey has developed a unique style of double-sided decoupage on glass and porcelain to create whimsical and striking vases and other objets d’art. An American-British artist now based in France, Jill trained to be an artist before entering the world of art galleries and auction houses in New York, London and Paris. As an art dealer, Jill fine-tuned her eye for fine art, decorative art and architecture – collecting rare art books and engravings along the way. Jill’s zeal for collage on paper led her to Leporello works being sold at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Louvre and the Museum of Fine Arts-Boston, among others. Seeking new ways to apply paper to surfaces, Jill began exploring decoupage on glass, and her eccentric works can now be seen in galleries across Europe.
Interview
- What is decoupage, and what led you to this medium?
- Today, decoupage is often associated with amateur crafting, but it is an art form that goes back centuries. Decoupage on glass is uncommon. I love how the transparency allows for a two-sided canvas, and applying paper to often large objects with curves and crevices is a fascinating challenge.
- How do you create your perfectly smooth, glossy pieces?
- I collect or commission unusually shaped vessels for my pieces. The process of cutting and gluing paper to rounded surfaces is meticulous. My technique creates a magical 3D perspective on both sides of the glass. Each work receives 30 layers of varnish before polishing, resulting in a luminous finish.
- What inspires your designs?
- Years in the art world have given me a boundless mental library of art. Each piece combines storytelling and unusual imagery to surprise and intrigue the eye. The kaleidoscopic visions might include a marble mosaic with a tortoiseshell detail from a Boude commode, inset with a Renaissance portico.
- Do you teach this innovative version of collage?
- I occasionally organise five-day master classes for serious students hungry to learn this unusual medium. The week is demanding, but every student walks away proudly with a distinctive objet d’art. The theme of my next series (in multiple locations) will be ancient Greek mythological art and architecture.
Jill Barnes-Dacey is a master artisan: she began her career in 1993 and she started teaching in 2007
Works
Where
Jill Barnes-Dacey
