At the end of half term, on Sunday morning, eighteen pupils and three staff made their way down to the North Cornish seaside town of St Ives for the annual 4^th Form Art Trip.

Our first stop was at the Barbara Hepworth Museum where we had an insightful tour and talk by one of their staff. We learned all about her working practices and the role she played in modernist sculpture. Her garden is beautiful and she has many sculptures thoughtfully placed in it. She created some large and impressive pieces that can be seen not only in Cornwall but throughout the country. Once we had finished there we walked up to the Tate. It was closed last summer due to refurbishment but it has been worth the wait. The extension is sizeable and on display was a major exhibition by Patrick Heron as well as other artists from the St Ives School such as Naum Gabo, Ben Nicholson and Peter Lanyon. The canvasses were large and colourful and really worked well in the space. When the sun is shining and the beach so inviting then there is only one place to relax! We hired some wetsuits and body boards and went into the sea for an hour or so. That evening we went out for dinner then finished the day by creating sand sculptures on the beach to coincide with our theme ‘Alien Seas’.

On Monday morning we headed up to Leach Pottery where we had a guided tour of the working pottery which Bernard Leach founded. We were lucky enough to be able to decorate some tea bowls and have them raku fired. The pupils and staff all came away with their own personalised bowl. After lunch we split into two groups, one group had a two hour long print workshop with renowned artist Rachael Kantaris. Pupils created some impressive mono-prints using Patrick Heron as inspiration. The other group toured around the galleries, of which there are a lot; the pupils recorded ideas for their 'Me Myself and I' project. They alternated activities so the other group got to print. In the evening we went out to the breath-taking Minack Theatre to watch Hamlet which was fantastic. It was so picturesque to sit and watch the performance with the sun setting over the ocean.

On Tuesday morning, we headed off to Penzance to take in the Penlee House Gallery and Museum. The Newlyn Artists were exhibiting there such as Walter Langley, Stanhope Thorbes and Elizabeth Forbes. We had a very informative introduction to their work and life. In the afternoon we got on a boat to St Michael’s Mount where the pupils got to look around the gardens and the house. It was a chance for them to carry out some recording for their current project.

All in all it was a wonderful trip with some great experiences. All pupils have completed a sketch book from their visit which will go towards their coursework mark. Thank you Cornwall for another wonderful trip. Please enjoy browsing through an album of photos from the trip below.

Semaus Harkness - Art Teacher