About Me * Q & A

NEW! I just added a Q & A at the very bottom of this page in case you are curious to learn more (11/23/25)

Petey (aka Peaches) 2005-2022

BTW- if you were ever wondering about my Instagram acct’s name it’s after my Petey (who I lovingly called “Peaches” – also Petey, Peachtree, SweetPea, and Pete-O) ❤️

I miss my Petey so much. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about him since passing away in May 2022. He was the best dog anyone could ever have asked for. No dog will ever compare to him. 

I love and miss him so very much xoxoxoxo 

Q & A Below these paragraphs! 

Hi! I’m Mollie, an art teacher from Boston, Ma. Teaching art is my dream job, I LOVE what I do and am continuously inspired by all my students. I’m excited to say that I am in my 13th year teaching art in general —-and in my 12th year teaching art in North Attleboro, MA. (As of September 2025). I’ve been an elementary art educator since March 2013. 

Before teaching in North Attleboro, I taught art as a long-term sub in Wellesley for a little over a year and worked as an after-school art teacher and wedding photographer. 

I received my BFA with a concentration in photography from Montserrat College of Art and my Masters in Art Education from Mass College of Art & Design. 

I currently teach K-5 between two elementary schools. K started having art for the first time while I’ve been in North Attleboro 3 years ago (this is 2025 currently). 

Each art class is 40 minutes long. I currently teach off a cart at one school 4 days a week and have an art room at the other, sharing the space with the music teacher, and teach there 1 day a week.

 I have had an art room at both schools at points, and taught off a cart at both schools at different points too. Lots of shifting around and moving from having a room to then having no art room. I hope to get BOTH art rooms back soon (sigh).  (More on this under my “ART ROOM/ ORGANIZATION” page).

Besides teaching art I enjoy spending time with loved ones, long summer days, going to my families lake house in Maine, plants, flowers, thrifting, drawing, photography, yoga, taking long walks, going to the beach, kayaking, paddle boarding, word games, watching funny movies, gardening and traveling to warm places.

My goal as an art teacher is to be encouraging and supportive and show my students that I am there to help them learn and grow artistically as individuals.
To create a classroom where students drop all their fears and concerns at the door, and for them to know that the art room welcomes all learners with varying abilities and skill levels. Where students learn that it’s okay to make mistakes and that art requires practice, just like riding a bike or playing an instrument.To encourage them to explore fearlessly, and understand that we all learn through our mistakes and that we will never learn if we don’t try.

I believe that through play, exploration and problem solving within meaningful art experiences, students will develop their own creative voice to find confidence to work through any challenges in art, as well as in life.

Thanks for visiting my website! (More info. below)

I wrote up a little Q & A for this page. 

I’m hopeful that reading these will be entertaining and that you’ll learn a little bit more about me!

Q. What’s one of your strongest memories in art class in elementary school and in high school growing up? 

A. In HS, for a homework assignment, I drew my hand holding a flower and a key with pencil and my art teacher Mrs. Hathaway said it was good, but that I drew my thumb way too long and it wasn’t in proportion to the rest of my hand. Then I showed her my thumb 😂 ( which I DO actually have very long thumbs!) She was like “Oh! Yes they are long!” Haha 

In HS I started photography classes and fell in love with taking pictures and learning how to develop B+W prints in the dark room. That’s what piqued my interest in photography and why I majored in photography in college at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and then at Montserrat College of Art where I received my BFA. 

During my high school days, my dad built a darkroom in the basement for me and I would take tons of black and white photos and developed photos for hours in my darkroom. I didn’t wear any gloves half the time either (I ummm…try not to think about the awful ramifications of that 😬) 

In Elementary school I distinctly remember how my elementary art teacher came up to me while drawing and told me to start my drawing over and threw my art away! 

I actually talked about this with my closest friends recently (we had the same art teacher in elementary school) and 2 of my friends said they remembered seeing our art teacher RIP UP one particular students art right in front of everyone?! AND… on more than one occasion! I would NEVER do such a horrible thing! 

Needless to say, we all agree that she was a VERY mean old art teacher 😂 We also talked about how our 3rd grade classroom teacher had old dried up spit on the corners of her mouth.  ALL…THE…TIME. 🤮 

But on the flip side- we also talked about the best 1st grade classroom teacher ever – Mrs. Fraser – who was so much fun and dressed in leopard print all the time, had fun huge earrings, and mini skirts and always had a smile. She was like Mrs. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus. 

Funny how we remember things like that after all these years. Makes me wonder what my students will remember of me once they are all grown up?

Q. If you could have a dinner party with 6 artists- dead or alive, who would you invite? 

Frida Kahlo, Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Yayoi Kusama, Annie Leibovitz, and Cindy Sherman. The discussions around that table would be so interesting I think! 

Q. What is your favorite part about teaching art? What is your least favorite part? 

A. So many things are my favorite part! I love being with my students. I love seeing their excitement when I come into their room, I love seeing kids light up in awe when they try something new (like when Kindergartners mix colors for the first time, or create a crayon wax resist painting, or when students draw something that looks 3D ), and when they struggle with something at first, but then encourage them to keep trying and then they “get it” and you can see how proud they are! Just being with my students makes me happy! It genuinely makes me feel like a little kid again (although I do feel like I am just a big kid at heart anyways). 

My least favorite part is how there’s not enough time. 40 minutes of art is a little short I think, and in reality it’s really 30 minutes of art making with 5 min or more of set up and directions (if on a cart) and then 5 min of clean up. I also wish I had more than 5 minutes in between ALL my classes. Especially when teaching off a cart. 

Q. How was your experience at Mass Art (Massachusetts College of Art and Design)? 

I absolutely LOVED MassArt! The teachers that I had were incredible and so nice. I learned a ton and really looked forward to my classes and made a few great friends during that time. With my undergraduate program, I don’t know if it was because I was younger and possibly not “ready” for college but it wasn’t such a great experience for me. I left after 1 year of being at School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (probably due to a combination of reasons- I was just out of HS, not quite ready, bizarre roommate experience, and felt alienated in Boston away from my friends and family in Boston) so I took time off to just work (when I was a nanny for multiple families) then went back to college (in VT for a short 1 year stint,  then transferred to Montserrat College of Art where I finished my BFA in photography). So I was kind of all over the place haha, but my favorite part was my graduate program experience at Mass Art for sure. 

Q. What was one mishap that happened while teaching that you wish you could erase from ever existing? 

A. I know there are many that happened over the years, (this is my 13th year of teaching) and I’m trying to remember them, but my memory is kind of horrible haha…but recently I had a crazy day where I had 4 classes painting back to back when teaching off my cart at one school. In a kindergarten class, one special Ed. student picked up one of the water cups with brushes in it and dumped it on the rug just as I was about to pass out the water cups. Then later that day I was backing my cart out of a classroom, and as I was just about to make it past the door, the door started to close and the door handle caught a few water cups and knocked them on the floor. Needless to say, I ended up being 5 minutes late to my next class 🤪😂. I also was running out of space on my drying rack that day and had to double up the artwork per rack (becs. I didn’t have time to check if things were 100% dry yet. But luckily it was 9×12” paper and it would fit 2 sheets per rack) so luckily I was able to make enough room for the final art class that was painting that day! 

Q. What grade level is the most challenging for you? 

A. Surprisingly,  it isn’t Kindergarten! I just started teaching K a few years ago (along with 1st through 5th) and honestly- these kids are pretty fabulous! They are pretty quiet and don’t really talk over me when giving directions which is unusual I think, given their age!  I struggle with 3rd grade the most. For some reason (particularly with one 3rd grade class- not naming which one haha) there are many students in that class who have a hard time being quiet during directions, shout out, make random noises, and can’t sit still for very long 🤪. So it’s a challenging class for sure. I think it’s also just the classroom dynamics. There’s too many chatty, close friends in that one particular class. 

Q. What style/ kind of art are you most drawn to? 

A. Installation art and interactive art. 

I just love the immersive experience interactive art has. I love how it stimulates more than just one of our senses (visual).  I also love how you can walk around installation art and can see it from multiple perspectives. 

Installation art that has sound and video is a particular favorite of mine. I’ll never forget one particular installation called “The Visitors” by Ragnar Kjartansson, that was on display at the ICA in Boston. Such an amazing display! You walk into a dark room with 9 large screens on the walls that project people moving about in an old (beautifully decorated) house, where each member plays an instrument. The whole performance is just over an hour, and it just sounded absolutely incredible and the videos were equally incredible! I was instantly mesmerized! 

This was a description from the ICA -“A sentimental portrayal of friendship, love, and loss, The Visitors is a monumental, nine-channel sound and video installation of a performance staged at Rokeby Farm, a historic 43-room estate in upstate New York. Each of the individual audio and video channels features musicians playing instruments either alone or in groups, isolated yet in unison, occupying different rooms of the romantically dilapidated estate.” Has anyone reading this seen this?

Another amazing interactive art display was at “Hopscotch” in Portland, OR that I saw recently. Such a cool interactive experience with different rooms that showcase a variety of artwork that you can interact with that I definitely recommend checking out! 

I’ve seen images online of “Meow Wolf” (another really cool interactive art installation) but I haven’t seen it in person – but would love to check out. Anyone reading this seen it? 

Another really interesting installation I saw in Boston years ago, was by Tim Noble and Sue Webster, whose work consists of a collection of trash and random objects, with light projecting onto it, casting a crisp shadow of unbelievable imagery on the wall behind it. 

Tara Donovan is another one of my favorite installation artists, who uses everyday objects and creates these massively beautiful,  large scale installation sculptures transforming the rooms they are in.

I’ve sadly never seen Yayoi Kusama’s installation art, but want to so bad! I love her installation work so much! 

Q. What was your favorite thing to draw as a kid? 

A. I used to draw Garfield over and over and over again! I was obsessed with drawing him and I don’t remember why! I think this was when I was around 7 or 8 years old. I must’ve loved the comic back then (but don’t as an adult now).  I also absolutely loved playing “school” in my bedroom with friends. I demanded that I was ALWAYS the teacher 😂

Q. Can you talk about an art lesson that was kind of a flop or one that you’d never do again and why? 

A. There’s probably a few that I did once and never again, but there’s one that stands out in my mind. 

I did this 3D jellyfish with 2nd graders back in 2014-my very first year of teaching art in my district I’m in now. It involved a lot of plastic cups and plastic wrap, and was a total pain to prep! I do love how they came out though! They were very cool looking but the process was messy and the prep, as I said,  was not worth it with 25 or so (x5) 2nd grade classes! (Btw- these 3D jellyfish can be seen under my “Special Education” section if you scroll down. I did it with special Ed as well that year. MUCH more manageable with a smaller group!). 

So for this lesson I prepped each large plastic cup by balling up a few sheets of plastic wrap and placing it on the bottom flat end of the cup. Then I’d drape more sheets of plastic wrap on top so it’d dangle over the cup by about a foot. Then I’d tuck the plastic inside the cup until art class. 

Kids would then drape 3 long cut pieces of yarn over the top (on top of the balled up plastic wrap) and then tape it in place with masking tape. Then proceed to brush on watered down mod podge with cut pieces of tissue paper all over the cup until it was all covered up in tissue paper layers. Then left to dry until the next week. Where I put ALL these messy wet cups is beyond me?!?! I don’t recall,  but it was a crazy project and I’ll never do that again, unless it’s with a very small group!! 

Q. What’s a funny memory involving art or art making that you have growing up as a kid? 

A.So one memory that stands out is when my sister and I were really young (probable 5 and 8?) and we were coloring in the way back of our parents giant station wagon (with wood paneling of course!)

I think we were on a road trip to Maine and it was summertime. Well, on the way back we were coloring and having so much fun making our art, but when we got home, we just hopped out of the car and left the crayons in the blazing hot sun with the windows up. You can only imagine the terrible melted mess this created and I don’t think our parents were too happy 

Q. What was your very first year of teaching like? Do any memories from that first year stand out? 

A. My very first year of teaching I was SO excited- but…also SUPER nervous. I’m kinda embarrassed to admit this, but I want to be as transparent as possible here because we all have crazy stories from teaching I’m sure, and can relate to one another on some level! 

So I was a nervous newbie and what I would do was I would write down what I was going to say for teaching each lesson that day 😂I’d literally write out each sentence for describing whatever the steps was for that lesson, and I’d hide the paper behind a clipboard or some other such thing, so kids wouldn’t see I was reading!! I probably did this just for the first month of teaching and then got more and more comfortable with it and never did it again. There. I said it… please don’t make fun of me 😂

Also—-HAVE to mention that one day on the very FIRST day of school and early on in my teaching (maybe year 1 or 2?) There was this VERY  dysregulated first grader who threw his book bag across the room, and THEN a wooden chair across the room!! Of course this frightened all the other 1st graders and some started screaming / some started crying…. and I had to call the principal in to help assist and have all the other kids go to one corner of the room. 

Q. Who are your favorite artists? What artists inspire you?

A. Matisse (he’s definitely one of my all time favorites), Olafur Eliasson, Tara Donovan, Sally Mann, Elizabeth Peyton to name a few. 

Q. If you could have this ONE superpower to use when teaching – What would be your chosen superpower? 

A. To have the ability to captivate all my students SOOOoo much, that they wouldn’t talk during ANY kind of instruction lol. 

Q. Were you always into art? When did you first start getting into art? 

A. I started getting into art from when I was just probably 4 or 5 years old. I just loved drawing and coloring. My passion for art continued through elementary school and high school and it evolved into a focus on photography. As I mentioned above, I’d spend hours developing film and printing my photos during high school. Black + white film photography is the best. Just like with printmaking, you never really truly know what you’re going to get. There’s always some imperfections. It’s always a bit of a surprise. I loved that part about developing my own prints.
During high school I also loved making videos with my cam corder. My friends and I would create fun music videos and silly commercials all the time.

Speaking of making music videos—— when I was a teenager my good friend Hallie and I made a “music video” of ourselves lip syncing to L7’s song “Pretend We’re Dead” — this was back in the mid 90’s mind you — I distinctly remember sitting cross legged on the pool table wearing jeans and a t-shirt, barefoot and a wearing a blindfold, while Hallie would walk around me in circles as I lip synced to the song blasting from the CD player. 

Funny story about that video actually —My sister ended up somehow getting hold of my cam corder and watching the video we made with a bunch of her friends in our parents basement. I found out from walking by the top of the basement steps, and hearing them all laughing as it was playing back on the tv! I was sooo embarrassed and upset, as you can imagine! This was only meant for my watching eyes and my closest friends. I can’t remember if I confronted them or not right then and there—- but I immediately threw the tapes out as soon as I could. I may have even burned them.

Years later……I regret that decision. I would love to watch them again (especially with Hallie). Would’ve been fun, having a laugh, with a glass of wine, revisiting those times!!  —Oh well. C’est la vie I suppose. 
Btw— I forgave my sister soon after—We are actually really really close now, and have been for a long time, so it’s all good.

Q. If you could meet an artist that is no longer alive who would it be?

A. That’s a tough one to answer, because there are many- but I think I’d have to say Frida Kahlo. She had such an interesting life and had such a courageous spirit and I’d love to be able to sit down with her and listen to her incredible stories of her life! 

Q. What are some of your favorite art lessons you’ve taught? —OR- What art lessons would you say are the most challenging but successful? 

A. I think I’d have to say the Grid Drawing lesson with 5th grade inspired by Chuck Close. It’s an intense lesson that takes about 7 classes to complete, but the artwork my students create from it are just so rewarding and so worth the time and focus. They learn so much from it as well. My students are always so amazed and proud of the work they create after they finish! And I am too of course! 

Another lesson would be the Victorian Architecture drawings with 4th grade. Also an intense lesson that takes time to complete, but my students are so engaged throughout the entire lesson. They learn so much and they create such beautiful houses that they (and myself!) are proud of! 

Q. What do you like to do to wind down after a day of teaching? What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? 

In the warmer months, my favorite place to be is by the ocean. I’m not one of those people that like lounging around baking in the sun. I just love hearing and seeing the waves crash, smelling the salty air, taking long walks along the shore….Being at the beach just instantly makes me relaxed. There’s no better place. I could never live far from an ocean!

I also just love just relaxing at home, and having some ginger tea or hot cocoa in my comfy pj’s, lighting a couple yummy smelling candles (especially if they smell anything like a campfire or wood burning stove, that’s my favorite scent!) and relaxing on the couch. I might sound lame saying this, but I also love word games and enjoy watching wheel of fortune or playing Wordle on my phone. I also love taking long walks (preferably in a forest). It really makes me feel relaxed to just get out and walk for an hour or more. I also love getting together with my family and/or friends on the wknds.
When I have more time, I do enjoy working on my website, creating new art lessons, and creating new art video tutorials as well. 

Q. Whats your favorite art supply to use when teaching and why? What’s your LEAST favorite art supply to use? Why? 

A. So because I teach off a cart 4 out of my 5 days a week- I have to admit I love markers and colored pencils the most. Just because they are less messy and the clean up with those materials is quick! But I do of course I still use paint, oil pastels, collage etc. even though they are more messy. 

My least favorite art supply is glue! It’s a nightmare to work with if it’s a glue bottle. The caps get clogged, and the glue gets everywhere, and it’s a pain to clean. I use glue sticks whenever possible! Also… you will never see me using glitter! 

Q. What things would you change about the school(s) you work in and why? 

A. Number one are my chairs! I have these horrible foldable auditorium chairs in my art space at one school and they are horrifically squeaky! Just awful! Kids move a teeny tiny bit, and they squeak and it’s so irritating! Plus they aren’t comfortable I’m sure for the kids! I also wish I had more wall space or bulletin boards for displaying art at both schools. Currently there are only 2 bulletin boards at one of my schools and the other school has a small bulletin board behind sliding glass panels. There is also a smaller bulletin board,  but the PTO usually use it. 

I’d also love a larger sink in the school I have a room (but at least I have one!) and finally more time in between art classes.

Q. What advice would you give your younger self? Say in your teens and 20’s? 

A. Be brave. Don’t be afraid to take risks and stretch out of your comfort zone. Don’t worry about what other people think. Be more present minded. Be in the moment.

Q. What has been the most challenging part (overall) throughout your teaching career? 

A. When COVID happened it changed my world- as it did to everybody else. My anxiety grew tremendously though with a fear of germs to the point that it spiraled into a pretty severe form of OCD. I never worried about germs before or getting sick before covid. I rarely washed my hands even. But watching the news back in 2020 really messed me up. I started washing my hands constantly, and for way longer than necessary. I did way more than that though- but I don’t want to get into it here. I did see a therapist for awhile which was helpful, and have gotten much better – but it’s still in me. It was definitely the hardest time for me teaching since I had to be around so many people and kids. I used to wear 2 Kn95 masks one layered over the other, everyday to school and then eventually reduced it to 1 then eventually reduced it to none. To be honest, even though I’ve had covid and had colds in the past 5 years, I still struggle with OCD on a daily basis, whether I’m at school or not, and it is still something I’m working on overcoming. Slowly but surely I hope to eradicate it. 

Q. What are some art projects you are currently working on or would like to work on in the near future? 

A. I’ve been toying around with the idea of trying my hand at writing and illustrating a children’s book for a while now. It’s daunting to me,  but I did start to write something and it’s been sitting there unfinished/ unedited for awhile now. I would like to put more time into this and either continue with it or start a new story and then start the illustrations for it soon! 

Q. What are your 3 favorite children’s books from when you were a kid?

A.The Velveteen Rabbit (Margery Williams)

Frog and Toad Are Friends (Arnold Lobel)

Corduroy (Don Freeman)

I think I’d cry a bit after re-reading “The Velveteen Rabbit” even as an adult. I don’t remember crying as a child reading it—but I know it hit me back then with a bit of emotion. I mean, I’m bringing it up now —as an adult—and I haven’t read it in years, so it clearly left an imprint. It’s just such a heartfelt story about love, the feeling of wanting to belong, and authentic acceptance for who you truly are. (And wabi-sabi—“finding beauty in imperfection” as told by The Skin Horse in the story ) 

Just a classic children’s story that I think goes down in history as an all time favorite. 

Frog and Toad are Friends are very special to me. I don’t know what it is exactly, but it was just SO soothing to read as a child. I could read those over and over as a kid. I loved the simplistic, yet beautiful, style of the illustrations (and still do) and I love the underlying messages of each story—celebrating the loyal and at times, imperfect—nature of friendships. The two best friends with contrasting personalities: Frog, who is cheerful and upbeat, and Toad, who is often anxious, or grumpy. We can all relate to both of these characters at times.

I also love how each story focuses on simple joys like swimming in a lake, taking a long walk with a friend, or discovering you have a nice letter in the mailbox (does that even exist anymore?) But ultimately the themes of empathy, and acceptance of differences, I think are what are so beautiful about these stories. Hands down a children’s classic. 

Corduroy is a classic. Such a sweet story. Along with The Velveteen Rabbit, it also makes me think about all my stuffed animals and how much I loved them growing up. How can you not love the central ideas of this story — you can’t get more stripped down than that— Friendship, belonging, hope, and the beauty of small, simple things. Perfect. 

Later on, probably when I was around 10 years old, I remember loving those Choose Your Own Adventure books, where you decided what happened in the story. Do you remember reading those? Those were so fun! They were so interactive and thrilling that you couldn’t help but feel like you were part of the story.

Fun fact—Did you know that the font used for the titles on the Choose Your Own Adventure books is part of the inspiration for the Stranger Things logo? 

On that note—What are YOUR three favorite childhood books? Please share in the box below

If you made it this far- thank you so much for reading this! I hope you found it interesting… learned a little bit more about me…and maybe even laughed a little! 

“There’s a crack in everything.That’s how the light gets in.”

—-Leonard Cohen