Arts Explorer #8: Pretend Play and Magical Thinking

THE STORY OF GLORIA

            A DAY IN MILDRED'S LIFE CAN BE, OH, SO, TIRING. WHAT SHE WANTS TO DO THE MOST IS SIT IN A COOL PLACE AND HANG OUT WITH HER FRIENDS. THIS PROVES TO BE VERY DIFFICULT FOR HER MOST OF THE TIME. THE HUMANS AROUND HER ARE ALWAYS USING HER TO STAB FOOD AND EVEN, AS GROSS AS IT SOUNDS, PUT HER IN THEIR MOUTH (YUCK, I KNOW). GLORIA JUST WANTS TO PUT HER LEG UP, TIE A CUTE BOW IN HER...UHH..HAIR, AND RELAX!

            THE PEOPLE AROUND HER EVEN GO AS FAR AS TO PUT HER INTO A DISHWASHER FOR HER BATH. THIS MAY SOUND NICE, LIKE A DAY AT THE SPA, BUT THE WATER IS BEYOND HOT! MILDRED WANTS TO LISTEN TO HER FAVOURITE BAND, THE BEATLES, AND ENJOY SOME QUALITY TIME WITH HER FRIENDS.

            ALONG WITH STABBING FOOD, BEING PUT INTO SOMEONE'S MOUTH AND BEING FORCED INTO A DISHWASHER, MILDRED DISLIKES WARM PLACES, THE COLOUR YELLOW AND GETTING OLD. FROM HER FAMILY, MILDRED HAS HEARD THAT THERE ARE MANY OF HER KIND SCATTERED ALL OVER THE WORLD. SOME SPEAK ENGLISH, LIKE GLORIA, WHILE OTHER SPEAK CROATIAN, MANDARIN AND SPANISH. MILDRED JUST WANTS TO BE FREE SO SHE CAN TRAVELTHE WORLD AND MEET OTHER LIKE HER.

*TO HEAR MORE ABOUT A STORY SIMILAR TO MILDRED'S, PLEASE OPEN UP THE DRAWER IN YOUR KITCHEN THAT HAS CUTLERY AND START TALKING TO YOUR FORK.

            While thinking about what object I should bring to life, I was having supper and Gloria was right in front of me. This can be done with children at a variety of ages and I feel they would really enjoy it. The imagination takes over, and a child can crate whatever they want. As some people say, the sky's the limit. Children can create a story that is meaningful to them.

            The art word of the week is line. A line can suggest direction, is created by artists and can also be seen as a "continuation of a dot" (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009, p. 135). Lines can take many forms; thick or thin, long or short, and dark or light. You may be wondering, "what on earth does a line have to do with Gloria?" Hello! Gloria looks like a big line, with three line branches coming from her top, I mean her hair.

References

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6th Ed.). Belmont,CA: Delmar.