Ever since making her first quilt at the age of 10 with her grandmother, Botruff said she’s had a knack for creating blankets, clothing and costumes.

“It was a great bonding experience (with my grandmother),” she said. “We went and picked out the fabric together and put it together as a pair, and it just kind of stuck.”

Botruff has found unique ways to incorporate her talent for sewing into her schedule. She currently is a member of the Sewing Club, which Residential College in the Arts and Humanities instructor and fabric artist Chris Worland started last fall.

“(Botruff) is a very experienced sewer,” Worland said. “She’s very careful and meticulous, which is what you need to be good at it, and she always brings in projects that she’s done herself and uses them to teach and help others.”

Along with the other seven steady members of the club, Botruff also will contribute to the Lynch Quilts Project, an initiative launched by visiting Indianapolis artist LaShawnda Crowe Storm to have local artists and students create a quilt to celebrate Black History Month. The quilt will be on display until March 2 in the LookOut! Gallery of Snyder and Phillips halls.

Although Botruff is not sure whether she wants to pursue a form of sewing as a career, she has worked in the field as an intern for the Lansing Community College’s costume shop last summer. Costume shop designer Ashley Bryan said Botruff proved herself as a quick learner.

“She’s a really good listener,” she said. “She can look at examples once and be able to put something creative together.”

Botruff said she hopes to score another clothing internship this summer. But for now, she will continue to find innovative ways to create art with fabric.

“I really like coming up with something that’s never been done before,” she said. “It’s about picking up something new and figuring out how it’s going to
go together.”