Shademakers were peddlers who traveled the backroads
of early America creating pictures called silhouettes or
shadowgraphs, for families. These were actually a cheap
alternative to oil portraits, which were very expensive. They
were traditionally drawn in black and white, though some
artists did use colored ink. They came in all sizes, though the
majority of the silhouettes were less than 3 inches high!
You can make old fashioned silhouettes at home with a few
simple items:
masking tape
flash light
pencil
large sheets of paper-one dark and one light (for each person)
scissors
glue
Optional: frame and mat board
This is a family project since you will need several people!
Set a chair in front of a blank wall. Set one of your children
on the chair in front of the wall. Someone will need to stand
with the flashlight on the opposite side of the chair facing the
wall. You will need to tape your piece of paper to the wall
where the shadow of your child is centered on the paper.
Turn off all the lights and trace the details of their face as
they look to the side-so you are tracing their profile.
Have everyone take turns so you can trace each family
member. With a scissors cut out the tracing, and glue
it onto a dark piece of paper. This is your silhouette!
You can frame it, or cut the edge of the dark paper
with fancy edged craft scissors and give them as gifts
to grandparents. You can even play a guessing game
and let everyone guess which shadowgraph belongs to
each person! This is an easy, old fashioned project for
everyone in the family.
About the Author:
Brenda Hyde is Mom to three little ones, a freelance writer
and editor here at OldFashionedLiving.
