November brought cooler temperatures to Chatham County, but in a classroom at Woods Charter, the warmth of two-time Emmy award winner Willa Brigham was a welcome change. Students were introduced to the art of story-telling through textiles in this brand-new Artists-in-Schools residency.
Willa demonstrated the basics of sewing, including how to correctly hold scissors, threading a needle, knotting it, and then stitching fabrics together to create pictures. Kids were each given a “kit” that included a large piece of felt, a needle, and a fabric scrap cut in the shape of a heart where they stored their needle when it wasn’t in use.
Once Willa covered all the basics with the kids, she turned them loose to sketch what they wanted to sew onto their fabric squares. There were pictures of birds, leaves, pumpkins, pets, and more. After the receiving the green light from Willa, students searched through a pile fabric scraps to find pieces that would bring their sketches to life.
Students were eager to get going on their squares.
For three days, Willa worked closely with students to help them create their fabric masterpieces.
On the last day, she revealed an interactive poem she created for specially for the Woods students – Ode to Woods Charter 5th Graders. Students repeated the chorus “Boom boom jiggy jiggy boom boom! Hot dog!” as they cleaned up their supplies, each taking a bag home, complete with their square, the fabric heart, and their needle.
This residency was powered by generous support from New View Eyecare.
Arts for Resilient Kids programming is made possible by partnerships with Chatham County Schools, Chatham County, the North Carolina Arts Council, and many individual, foundation, business donors.
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