Cass County artist transforms denim into art - The Cass County Democrat

A Harrisonville artist has been captivated for nearly a decade by a historical log cabin in Harrisonville, so much so that she meticulously recreated it in one of her artworks.

Juanita Morgan creates art out of discarded denim. She created a replica of the historic Sharp-Hopper log cabin using scraps of denim material, tags, snaps and buttons, recycling cast-off jeans and transforming them into art. The piece incorporates black and white items to represent slavery and even features a snap from 1865 as the cabin’s door handle.

Several pieces of her art, including the Sharp-Hopper log cabin, are on display at the VantagePoint Photography gallery located on the historic Harrisonville square at 108A S. Independence St.

The recreation of the cabin was one of several artworks that were featured in the 2016 Cass County Fine Arts Association Show.

“The Civil War was fought by young, old, male, female, black and white from all areas of the United States,” Morgan said.

“Each piece of denim is different, like those who fought for our freedom. It is my hope that this artwork will draw attention to this part of our painful history. We need to forgive and rebuild relationships but not forget the price many paid for that freedom.”

Morgan’s art has been featured in a number of publications and has been displayed at galleries in Western Kansas and the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center & Museum.

One of her pieces received the Grand Champion award in Three-Dimensional Art at the Harrisonville Fine Arts Association Exhibit and Competition.

“I am so pleased to be displaying Juanita’s beautiful art,” said John VanPelt, owner of VantagePoint Photography. “To have the ability to take discarded jeans and turn them into something so gorgeous and meaningful just blows my mind. It is such an honor to have her art gracing my gallery’s walls.”

A portion of the sale of the denim cabin will be donated to the Cass County Historical Society to help preserve the actual cabin.

The Sharp-Hopper log cabin is located at 400 E. Mechanic St. in Harrisonville, just off the square. Built north of town in 1836 during the Civil War era, the cabin was relocated to its current location next to the Harrisonville Public Library in 1974. It now houses a museum.

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