Tate Modern

A day at the Tate modern was on the agenda today.

Loud groan and eye rolling from inner art student.

CK and I pitched up fractionally late but in time to hear the basics about searching out form and shape and finding the inspiration of the piece, or maybe the last bit was form Sylvia Crowe's boo?, anyway the basic tenet of the day was to be inspired and to see what could be brought into our garden design projects and our HLP project over xmas.

Inner student yawned loudly....BORING.....she shouts. I don't listen.

After fielding coats to the cloakroom, finding loos and grabbing a cuppa we embarked on the 5th floor rooms. Swarms of school children drawing, mooching, discussing and listening flowed around us. Asians snapping happily as they stood next to the 'no camera' signs. I began to sketch, self consciously and hiding my book from anyone who wanted to see what was being scribbled. Never been a big fan of public drawing.

Inner art student nods in agreement.

Gradually as I noted things that inspired me, scribbled shapes and tones along with names and dates, picture refs and titles I began to realise how much inspiration I was gathering from this place. My 1st 4 visits here were to the top floor restau only, not even bothering with the galleries. Shameful!

I saw artists that I know well, Miro, Monet, Braques, Picasso, Matisse, Kandinsky and some I have not heard of before but want to see more of. It's not the Musee D'Orsay (I spent A LOT of time there when I lived in Paris) nor the Tate proper but it is great to see modern works of all media and mode.

My favorites of the day were '30 pieces of silver', the stands upon which 4 cubist sculptures sat and a fallen over palm tree covered in clay - go figure. ... and of course Matisse's 'L'Escargot' and Rothko's 'Untitled' and Miro's mobile and and and.....

In the end inner art student had a great day and my sketch book is much fuller than I thought it would be with ideas and collages of ideas and forms of ideas.