Author Archives: Holly Van Duyne

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There is a playground outside of our classroom. I often run around with the kids and sometimes, we lay on the ground to look at the sky. Most of this week, I kept seeing cloudless skies, but on Wednesday, I saw a phenomenal one that I couldn’t get out of my mind. I personally love patterns, and this was a dream one. The sky was almost this exact shade, with flat clouds completely aligned in a staggered but uniform. way. It was the most beautiful sky I have seen in a long time. I noticed that it was only contained partially over our schoolyard, which I found so interesting. I would ask students to tell me what type of clouds they are used to seeing, and what materials they’ve seen that remind them of clouds, and if these can be used for creating their own collage. I used blue construction paper, and cut it into strips, and placed them in staggered formation, to coincide with the clouds. That’s how i “saw” it in my mind. Everything in its place..but not quite.

Home, sweet home

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When I think of home, I think of Olivia and Billy. My daughter and fiance. They are home and life to me. Books have always been one thing I move with me everywhere. Even when I’ve lost everything else, I always had boxes of books. This dollhouse is an impending family project that we three will work together on. We love to be creative, and creativity means home to me. We are often all huddled together with art materials, talking and listening to music. These adorable little characters were made by Billy and Olivia. I added a Degas book and lots of art. Art is on every wall in my home, always. I love to be a homebody, so I like to be surrounded by pretty things. I also have a small urn with my brother’s ashes, which will be with me always, and a figurine of twins my twin sister gave me when I was very sick ages ago. Though we live in different states, she is my forever home, from womb to tomb, birth to earth.

I used an Instax polaroid mini for my photography and dollhouse rendition of “Home”.

Holly Squashic-Leaf Study

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I originally picked a red leaf but forgot it at work. Students and I were in the preschool outdoor play space and were collecting natural materials for our science space. So, on my walk home, I found another one. This one is at first less interesting in the vibrancy of color, but the blend and color palette had a lovely tone and texture, and fit in with the O’Keeffe pieces. There are two tears in this leaf that I hadn’t noticed at first. I also see lots of black flecks, signs of decomposition. I used basic colored pencils. I love the multi-colored foliage of fall, and as one of my favorite writers Lucy Maud Montgomery said, “I am so glad I live in a world with Octobers.”