Beverly Buchanan is an African American artist who explored everyday southern architecture. Buchanan is best known for creating small-scale sculptures of the houses where black tenant farmers lived. She called these sculptures “shacks.” Her shacks are made of found objects like wood, tar, buttons, charcoal, metal and even old license plates. Found objects are things that were not originally meant to be a work of art. They can be natural or manmade. An artist turns these objects into art.
What kind of everyday objects would you like to turn into art?
Beverly Buchanan was inspired by the homes she saw in the South. Take a look at the houses and buildings around you. What do you see (front porches, slanted roofs, chimneys, bright colors) that you can add to your sculpture?
For this activity you will need:
- A small cardboard box
- Cardboard, cardstock or paper
- Scissors
- Glue (you can also use a hot glue gun with an adult’s help)
- Found objects like buttons, seashells, popsicle sticks, playing cards, pipe cleaners, yarn or leaves
- Markers, crayons, paint, stickers or glitter
To make your shack:
- Your small cardboard box will be the base of your shack.
- Cut out squares from the box to make windows and doors. You can create a porch roof by cutting out three sides of a square and bending the cardboard up and out.
- Cut extra pieces of cardboard or paper into geometric shapes like rectangles, triangles and squares. Glue them onto your box to add layers and textures.
- Use crayons, markers or paint to add colors and designs to your shack.
- Decorate your shack with your found objects like buttons, seashells, pom poms, or popsicle sticks. What will you add to make your shack unique?