Magical thinking is the ability to use your imagination and fantasy to create unique ideas and stories. Fantasy is an important aspect of childhood, as many children in our North American culture experience fantasy through the belief in Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny and stories. People have been drawn to fantasy for centuries, which is why mystical beings such as the Lock Ness Monster are still talked about today. To coincide with this blog about fantasy, I decided to create: The Wicked Witch of the Thorns. By simply taking a picture of a single rose from a bouquet in my kitchen, and using my imagination and creativity on the computer program paint, I was able to make an inanimate object come to life.
So who is the
Wicked Witch of the Thorns?
She is a female witch who supervises a little known world called: The Kitchen. She generally enjoys her environment, acknowledging that the thorns around her are a big reason she became so powerful. Her thorns have acted as natural weapons for her, and help her to fend off pesky animals and children. Although she likes this power, she feels lonely at times, since children do not enjoy her presence as much as other flowers who are more inviting. She enjoys her height, as it gives her the ability to overlook the kitchen world. She became a practised witch several years ago after shadowing Harry Potter, an old man who potted plants. At the time she was a simple bulb, but with his help she flowered into a beautiful witch. He showed her the ways of magic and she went wild, creating a world of thorns and thick branches for protection. She generally speaks plant, but she is familiar with dog, cat, and turtle as these animals often explore her territory. While she enjoys the advantages of living indoors, she sometimes thinks about giving up her stable, protected life in order to interact with the bugs and animals that live in the wild. She once said, one must endure the bites of the caterpillars in order to see the beauty of the butterfly. Though she is a lone rose, she dreams of one day being a mother but realizes she would likely have to relocate, as her glass vase holds no soil to firmly plant down. She hopes to one day travel, but has fears about detaching herself from her base.
After creating my Rose Witch, I sat back and wondered what art word I could pick for this blog. The word I decided on was:
Design
In Art & Creative Development for young Children, Schirrmacher and Fox refer to design as: “A scribble of lines, a splash of colors, and an array of shapes” (2009). I feel like this fits for my object because my I feel like my overall picture combined many different aspects, but worked together as a unified whole (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009). Basically, I feel like I was able to accomplish what I set out to do (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009).
Including fantasy play or stories is an important part of the developing child, as it creates endless amounts of possibilities in terms of where you can take the learning. Although fantasy play may at first seem like nonsense ideas, there is actually so many ways to incorporate fantasy and imagination into everyday learning. Fantasy can be used to teach children about the lives of animals, their world, or just to explore their creativity. This is important for Early Childhood Educators to understand, because often the focus of learning is placed on concrete learning such as math and reading. Imagination and creativity and fantasy play can be just as important for the development of the child, and allows children to actively engage and interact with their education.
Reference:
Reference:
Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6th Ed.).Belmont, CA: Delmar.
