Road to Santa Fe, Theodore Van Soelen, 1948

Shrinking Story

Road to Santa Fe, Theodore Van Soelen, 1948

Road to Santa Fe

Theodore Van Soelen, United States

1948

44 in. X 54 in.

Denver Art Museum Collection: William Sr. and Dorothy Harmsen Collection, 2001.1143

Instructions:

  1. Invite children to close their eyes and, using their imaginations, “shrink” their bodies down to the size of a butterfly.
  2. Without actually moving, prompt them to use their imaginations to “jump” or “fly” into the painting and land on something or someone represented in the artwork.
  3. Document on chart paper the responses of the children as you encourage them to share their adventure inside the artwork.
  4. Ask a series of questions that prompt young children to consider the sensory experience inside the artwork, such as:
    • From where you “landed,” what do you see?
    • What do you smell? (e.g. the plants, a horse, something cooking in the house, etc.)
    • What do you hear around you? (e.g. the wind blowing through the trees, the horse neighing, a creaking door, etc.)
    • What do you feel? (e.g. the hair on the horse, the smooth leather of the riders’ hat, the rough surface of the house’s walls, etc.)
    • What might you taste in the artwork?

TIP: Use this technique with all different kinds of artwork, including students’ own artwork. When your students are more comfortable with this routine, try more abstract artworks to focus on your students’ identification of colors, shapes, and types of lines.

Related Creative Activities

Kerry James Marshall, Better Homes, Better Gardens, 1994. Acrylic paint and paper collage on canvas. Funds from Polly and Mark Addison, the Alliance for Contemporary Art, Caroline Morgan, and Colorado Contemporary Collectors: Suzanne Farver, Linda and Ken
Creative Practice

Ten Times Two

This close-looking game can be used with any visual art object and will provide an opportunity for children to look into the detail of the artwork. This activity will reinforce math skills, build vocabulary, and introduce descriptive language.
Portrait of a man
Lesson Plan

A Portrait of One’s Own

After spending time exploring aspects of the Ancestor Portrait and the importance of ancestor portraits in the Chinese tradition, students will create an ancestor portrait using mixed media materials and present it to the class.

Lesson Plan

Combining Human and Animal Forms

Students will use visual observation skills to carefully examine the Assyrian Bird-Headed Deity limestone relief and explore the movement, sounds, and traits of different animals. They will first explore these aspects in humans and birds of prey, as seen in the limestone relief, and will then do the same with “animals” they create from two or more animals. This lesson enables children to draw upon previous knowledge and imagination in order to act out the movement, sounds, and other traits of the animals they create.

Lesson Plan

If You Give a Man a Horse

Students will read the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff, explore Charles Deas’ painting Long Jakes, and exercise their imaginations to create their own cause-and-effect story.

Lesson Plan

Let’s Make a Story

This lesson allows students to use their imaginations to identify, explore, and express their understanding of Sandy Skoglund’s Fox Games. They will discuss the imagery as a class and create a group story with each student contributing one sentence about the foxes in the installation.

Lesson Plan

Designing a Dish

Students will locate different symbols on the Chinese Dish with Eight Buddhist Emblems, then choose three of their favorite symbols to create on their own paper plate dishes.