Sew much fun

COEUR d'ALENE — Through bird-nested bobbins and tangled threads, Sorensen Magnet School students arrived competent and confident at the end of a two-week artist-in-residence program with cloth and fiber artist Katy Baker-Casile.

"I have learned so much about what this school gives kids, which is resiliency," said Baker-Casile, of Coeur d'Alene. "We would have something go sideways, and they're like, 'Cool, let's roll with it.'"

Baker-Casile, who uses the appliqué method in her fabric artwork, taught students in every grade level different sewing techniques. Kindergarten, first and second grade learned to hand stitch and created mosaics with small pieces of fabric.

"Lots of scissors, a little bit of sewing, lots of planning and forethought into what they want their picture to be," she said.

Third, fourth and fifth graders learned how to use sewing machines.

"The first day we sewed on a piece of paper, down lines drawn on the paper to get the idea of, 'This is how we make the machine go,'" she said, smiling. "We had more bobbin bird nests than I've ever seen in my life, where the thread gets all wound up. Now the volunteers are experts in unthreading and fixing sewing machines."

Several students shared their artist's statements with their peers and visiting family members as images of their finished products projected on the screen behind them Friday during an all-school gathering in the gym.

Third grader Henry Hermance said he based his piece on island-forming volcanoes.

"There are two trees that remind me of camping and nature," he said. "The crescent moon reminds me of my mom, because she likes them. I am proud of the crescent moon because it looks like a real moon."

Fourth grader Sadie Brigham and her classmates stood with their appliqué burlap masterpieces outside of their classroom before heading to the gathering. She said the sewing program was really fun and showed off her fabric creation depicting a lake and mountains under the night sky.

"I would love to do it again," Sadie said.

"Yeah, same," said her classmate, Bridger Johnson, displaying his work.

"We did nature scenes," he said. "I did Mount Fuji in Japan. It just looked cool."

Baker-Casile said the community support for the sewing lessons was outstanding. Lake City High School's theater department loaned eight machines and another 20 were borrowed from families.

"This has been amazing," Baker-Casile said. "These kids, this school — there's a lack of words for how amazing this school is."

Baker-Casile began sewing when she was 2.

"I had a sewing machine, a loom and a real toolbox with hammers and saws in miniature for that Christmas," she said. "Kids are so much more capable than we ever give them credit for."

Sewing is problem-solving, Baker-Casile said.

"All of the kids have learned that yes, your thread is going to bird nest, how can you change what you're doing to make that less likely?" she said.

She said the arts spark something in the brain that can't be activated with just reading, writing and arithmetic.

"Art is vital to a fully functional brain," she said.

Sorensen Art Director Anne Mitchell echoed Baker-Casile's comment about the kids building resilience as they learned the different sewing methods.

They took a concept from one medium and switched it to another, learning that sometimes things don't turn out the way they are imagined, she said.

"They're learning a brand-new skill with rapid-fire time to do it in," she said. "These end up being great life skills for them. That's what I want the community to know about this project."