At Deniliquin North Public School, something magical happens when a classroom door is mysteriously locked in the morning. For the lucky students who stumble upon it, it’s not a locked-out moment, it’s a locked-in surprise.
Once a week, when the halls are quiet and the moonlight hits the windows just right, school cleaner Laurie Nelson kneels on the soft memory-foam carpet of an empty classroom and creates something extraordinary: art.
Armed with a vacuum cleaner, her hands, and whatever tools she can find, like rulers or pencils for precision, Ms. Nelson carefully sculpts intricate images into the fibers of the classroom rug. Her subjects range from curious penguins to majestic stallions, and every new design is a hit with the students.
“I just get a quick idea when I’m working and I’ll take off with it,” Ms. Nelson shared. “Whatever I can find that I think will work I’ll grab and use.”
The spontaneous masterpieces began about a month ago after a colleague encouraged her to give it a try. Since then, Laurie’s “vacuum art” has quietly transformed into a schoolwide tradition that brings joy not just to the kids, but to the staff, too.
“Everybody loves it,” Ms. Nelson said with a smile.
Second grader Fergus Maslen still remembers the first time he saw one. “It was a big surprise,” he said, adding that he thinks Ms. Nelson is a “very good artist.”
His classmate Kobee Williams agreed, calling the new tradition “a good start to the day.” He added, “It must be very tricky to make art on a carpet!”
That early morning buzz of anticipation has now become a weekly highlight. The kids know that if a door is shut tight, something special might be waiting inside.
Teacher Carly Crothers said Ms. Nelson’s artwork has totally changed the tone of their mornings. “For a bunch of six and seven-year-olds to come in so sensibly, and walk around so carefully and delicately to make sure they don’t ruin the artwork until everyone’s seen it, is really very cute,” she said.
It’s not Laurie’s first brush with artistry, she’s previously won awards for her pencil drawings at the Deniliquin Pastoral and Agricultural Show. But creating art with vacuum bristles and memory foam? That’s a new one.
Ms. Nelson humbly shrugs off the praise, but the school knows just how special she is.
“She is amazing,” Ms. Crothers said. “We are so lucky to have her, and she is far too humble.”
And as long as Ms. Nelson keeps letting her creativity run wild through the school’s carpets, the students of Deniliquin North will keep the wonder in their eyes, and a little more magic in their day.
