While you are studying either art or papercrafts learn about wycinanki for kids too.
Wycinanki (pronounced vee-CHEE-non-kee) is a traditional Polish folk art in which artists cut out decorative designs from paper.
It’s a kind of papercutting, and these paper cut-outs are often colorful and symmetrical (meaning one side mirrors the other).
Some of the common themes you will see in Wycinanki are flowers, plants, trees, birds and especially roosters and peacocks). Too, geometric shapes like stars or circular motifs, and scenes of daily life, weddings, or holidays.
Wycinanki served both a decorative and cultural purpose. In the decoration of homes people used to paste cutouts on walls, ceiling beams, or hang them in windows to brighten up plain rooms.
Over time, Wycinanki became an expression of folk heritage, passed down through families and used in fairs, museums, and as souvenirs.
BOOKS FOR KIDS ABOUT POLISH HISTORY OR SET IN POLAND
Also, look at some books about Poland or set in Poland. I prefer living books when I can find them.
7 Books About Polish History or set in Poland
Use some of these books to bring your love learning about stories set in Poland or about Polish history to life.
In the land of dolls, there is magic.In the land of humans, there is war. Everywhere there is pain.But together there is hope. Karolina is a living doll whose king and queen have been overthrown. But when a strange wind spirits her away from the Land of the Dolls, she finds herself in Kraków, Poland, in the company of the Dollmaker, a man with an unusual power and a marked past.
Germans march into Poland in 1941, the Balickis’ happy family life is shattered. With their parents taken away by Nazis, Ruth, Edek and Bronia are forced to fend for themselves in the dangerous, war-ravaged city of Warsaw.When Edek is captured too, the girls are desperate. Then they meet orphaned street urchin Jan, who carries with him a talisman of a silver sword paperknife that they recognise as having belonged to
their mother..
Marie Curie was one of the most celebrated scientists in history. Before she changed the world with her discoveries in physics and chemistry, Marie was an intelligent girl who studied hard to reach the top of her class in school. She overcame many challenges, including people who told her she couldn't be a scientist because she was a woman. She didn't let anything stop her, and her important research is still helping people today. Explore how Marie Curie went from being a young girl growing up in Poland to a famous, Nobel Prize-winning scientist.
The extraordinary story of Stefania Podgórska, a Polish teenager who chose bravery and humanity by hiding thirteen Jews in her attic during WWII, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Sharon Cameron -- now a Reese's Book Club YA Pick!
In this sweeping novel, James A. Michener chronicles eight tumultuous centuries as three Polish families live out their destinies. The Counts Lubonski, the petty nobles Bukowksi, and the peasants Buk are at some times fiercely united, at others tragically divided. With an inspiring tradition of resistance to brutal invaders, from the barbarians to the Nazis, and a heritage of pride that burns through eras of romantic passion and courageous solidarity, their common story reaches a breathtaking culmination in the historic showdown between the uthless Communists and rebellious farmers of the modern age. Like the heroic land that is its subject, Poland teems with vivid events, unforgettable characters, and the unfolding drama of an entire nation.
Inspired by the incredible true story of one Jewish family separated at the start of World War II, determined to survive—and to reunite—We Were the Lucky Ones is a tribute to the triumph of hope and love against all odds. “Love in the face of global adversity? It couldn't be more timely.” —Glamour It is the spring of 1939 and three generations of the Kurc family are doing their best to live normal lives, even as the shadow of war grows closer. The talk around the family Seder table is of new babies and budding romance, not of the increasing hardships threatening Jews in their hometown of Radom, Poland. But soon the horrors overtaking Europe will become inescapable and the Kurcs will be flung to the far corners of the world, each desperately trying to navigate his or her own path to safety.
She is expected to marry, cook, and have children—and instead she’s sneaking off to war. Can she manage to stay alive, save her mother, and keep the handsome son of a duke from discovering her secret? The Warrior Maiden is a reimagining of the classic Mulan tale in medieval Europe.
When Mulan takes her father’s place in battle against the besieging Teutonic Knights, she realizes she has been preparing for this journey her whole life—and that her life, and her mother’s, depends on her success. As the adopted daughter of poor parents, Mulan has little power in the world. If she can’t prove herself on the battlefield, she could face death—or, perhaps worse, marriage to the village butcher.
Disguised as a young man, Mulan meets the German duke’s son, Wolfgang, who is determined to save his people even if it means fighting against his own brother. Wolfgang is exasperated by the new soldier who always seems to be one step away from disaster—or showing him up in embarrassing ways.
Then, different regions of Poland have distinguishing wycinanki styles:
- In Kurpie, the designs are often made from a single sheet of paper and are symmetrical, usually in one color.
- In Łowicz, artists layer multiple colored pieces of paper for more complex, multicolored designs.
Today, Wycinanki motifs also appear on prints, fabrics, decorations, and even in architecture, for example, a Polish pavilion was designed with patterns inspired by Wycinanki.
We are making our own wycinanki inspired art piece that can be used for everyday patterns or for seasonal decoration.
WYCINANKI FACTS
- Wycinanki has roots going back to rural, peasant life in Poland (and parts of nearby Slavic regions).
- Artists sometimes used sheep shears (large scissors used in farming) to cut out designs instead of smaller scissors.
- One story says that before many houses had glass windows, people hung sheep skins over window openings to block wind and cold. To allow light and air, they would snip small openings in those skins—and those openings gradually turned into decorations. Later, the idea moved onto paper instead of skins.
- By the mid-1800s, paper and colored paper became more available, and artists began to create more elaborate designs.
- Wycinanki designs were often changed each year, especially if homes were whitewashed (painted) and then re-decorated with new cutouts.
- One modern artist, Magdalena Nowacka-Jannotta, still practices this art, making colorful modern scenes and traditional motifs by cutting with large shears.
- The famous Polish-American artist Alice Wadowski also made Wycinanki art, and her works have been shown in art museums.
- In Ukraine, a similar art is called vytynanky, and in Belarus it’s vycinanki.
Finally, look at more paper craft ideas.
PAPER CRAFTS FOR KIDS
- Fun and Easy Tissue Paper Crafts for Kindergarten: Adorable Crayon Tissue Paper Craft
- How To Make A Paper Snowflake
- How To Make A Kids Origami Easy And Fun Whale
- WEAVING PAPER – JOINING TWO PAINTINGS
- Collage Self-Portrait Art Project
- Facts About Japan | How To Make Kids Easy Origami Fish
- Easy Paper Quilling Turtle That Your Kids Can Make From Construction Paper
- How to Make A Fun Origami Frog Amazon Rainforest Craft
- Fruit Paper Fan Craft
- How To Make Fun Paper Springs
Finally, look at how to make wycinanki style paper cutting project.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN WYCINANKI
Here’s a simple way kids can try making a Wycinanki style paper cutting project of their own with just a few basic supplies. This is wonderful for building fine motor skills, art appreciation, and learning about symmetry.
You will need:
- Colored paper (thin, easy to cut)
- Scissors
- Glue or glue stick
- Blank paper or cardstock as a background
Pick a solid sheet of colored paper and fold it in half (like when you are making a snowflake). This is helpful to make both sides of your paper perfectly symmetrical. Cardstock or construction paper works well for this.
On one side of the folded paper, draw a half-design (like half a flower, leaf, or bird).
Carefully cut along the outline. Because the paper is folded, the cutouts will appear mirrored when you open it.
Now make cuts along the fold in whatever shapes you like, you can fold each side in half again to get more design outside of the center.
Unfold the paper and you now have a symmetrical shape as your base piece.
Glue your final piece onto a background sheet of white to make it really pop.
Add more layers with different colored paper shapes and glue them on to make a more complex design. For our tree design we added some leaf and fruit-like shapes to give our final result more color and dimension.
A tip for doing this so that opposite sides match is to cut out two at a time of your shapes.
Then glue them down in the same spot on opposite sides of your main design.
