“Alice, Where Did You Get That Blue?” Narrating Silence-based Solitude in Paintings

This article originates from the author’s creative encounters and extracurricular engagements with art and literature for TESOL materials development. Using autobiography as pedagogy, it examines the quiet spaces of visual art for learning, contemplation and creative expression. Guided by John Dewey’s (1934) ideas on aesthetics and experience as well as research studies on the positivity of silence to embrace ambiguity and uncertainty, the exemplars of arts-based activities aim to develop English language learners’ artistic close-reading skills through inspecting and narrating paintings of silence in written description. The Australian painter Charles Blackman and his “Alice in Wonderland” pictures (1955–98) were chosen for a reflexive engagement with the theme of silence, solitude and loneliness against happiness as an aim of education. The portrayal of tranquil artworks and the use of writing scaffolds, with their affective, motivational and communicative functions in meaning-making practices, may prove valuable for visual and emotional literacy development.