Blair House
Immediately after returning from the summer, the A-level set and Art teachers went to Blair House for a weekend of creativity and inspiration. After cramming materials, luggage and food into the bus, we began to make our way up north. In a rather stark contrast to our usual Friday night, we spent the remainder of the evening making our own sketchbooks under the watchful eye of the Artist-in-Residence Katie Bradshaw.
The next day was filled with artistic flare as Messrs Prosser, Murray and McAlpine took us up to Corrie Fee, where we painted, when we were not struggling to keep our paintings aground and our clothes paintfree. Even walking from place to place was filled with productivity as we drew in our hand-made sketchbooks. That evening, after a lecture from Mr Stewart on land art, we were put into groups to make our own sculpture created from the natural materials found in the woods. This was short-lived due to the over-enthusiastic midges. Mr and Mrs Prosser’s cooking proved to be a very welcome retreat. Our evenings were filled with films that could only be watched on an art weekend. These included a terrifyingly novel interpretation of Alice in Wonderland and the original version of The Wicker Man. These fitted well to the Art Department’s theme of ‘Intimate Immensity’ and turned out to be very infl uential on all of our work for the coming term.
Despite thinking that a day could not possibly get more
artistic, Mr Prosser proved us wrong on Sunday, where
we ventured to the quarry. To our confusion, we were
all given enormous 3m by 4m sheets of paper, which
proved a challenge even to hang on the quarry walls,
let alone paint onto. The sheer size of these works
made them exhausting; however it was good to get our
teeth into some big work, especially so early in the
term. This proved to be very rewarding and my highlight
of the trip.
On behalf of the A-level students, I would like to say
that we were all very grateful to the teachers, who
gave up their weekend to take us: it was certainly
a springboard from which our coursework benefited
greatly.
Ruaraidh Ferguson
And then ....
Barcelona
Day 2 started with a walk to the Miró foundation, where we had another quick talk in a beautiful natural amphitheatre in the gardens outside the gallery. The actual museum was brilliant, taking us through a timeline of Miró’s work, from simple but impressive realistic drawings made at the age of twelve to his later, colour-rich surreal work from the 1960s. After this visit, we were given the freedom to roam around the surrounding area to find lunch. My group was lucky enough to find a local restaurant that served a flavoursome paella, filling us with the required energy for the afternoon excursion, a trip to the Museu Picasso. Again, in this gallery, we saw how Picasso’s work developed through the ages, from realistic portraits at a young age to his cubist works in later life. The common perception that food makes people sleepy was proved wrong, as a delicious dinner preceded a night of chat in the rooms! Miraculously unfatigued, we started Day 3 with a trip to the MACBA. Different from the galleries of Day 2,
the works at the MACBA exploited our most memorable
sense, that of sound. In one particular piece, we sat in a
miniature theatre and were astounded by the disorienting
perception of having a thrilling narrative happen all around
us, all through headphones. After this, we had lunch in
preparation for an action-packed afternoon. The famous
Las Ramblas market lived up to expectation and more, with
fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, nuts and cheese all providing
interesting viewing and eating! Along with Las Ramblas,
the Harbour proved very useful for the older students, as
many of them ended up choosing waterways and harbours
for their GCSE exam topic. For many, though, the pinnacle
of the day was visiting Gaudí’s most famous buildings.
Originally for affl uent aristocrats, Parc Güell was not only
stunning, but also provided a good flat park, perfect for a
game of touch rugby. And then we reached the captivating,
unfi nished Sagrada Familia, with eighteen monumental
towers and incredible attention to detail.
For some, there was an added bonus on the last day,
when we visited the Nou Camp, a huge 100,000-capacity
stadium which is home to the famous FC Barcelona. No
famous art here, but it was still exciting, as we visited the
changing rooms, PR areas and of course, the pitch. We then
took the bus to the airport and flew home, very tired, but
the memories of a fantastic trip remained with us. Thanks
very much to all the Art teachers for a memorable trip. |
Paris 2006
Saturday morning was spent in the Picasso museum followed by some drawing in Notre Dame to keep out of the rain. The Pompidou then provided an excellent opportunity to explore the Art department theme of Chaos and Order with their fantastic exhibition titled 'Big Bang'. A much needed steak and frites deep in the cellars of Saint Germain was quickly consumed before returning to the hostel for a late evening write up of their sketchbooks. Sunday morning was spent in the flea market of Porte de Vanves where a variety of very smart hats were bought and worn in style at the Rodin museum and in the streets of Montmartre. A visit to the tomb of Degas in Montmartre cemetery provided Gothic horror for two pupils struggling to find the exit as the bell tolled for closing time. Spirits were raised after a damp walk to Sacre Coeur by dancing girls in Place d'Abbesses! The sight of Academy boys in trilbys and top hats dancing a conga to the sounds of a street band was one to remember. The evening meal of Pierrade or Fondue seemed to be never ending as plate after plate of food was devoured. This was a very full three days which the pupils committed themselves to wholeheartedly, without a single grumble and with their own unique fashion style!
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Art trip to Washington and New York 2008
A fuller account of this trip will appear in the Chronicle. DL Prosser |
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On Day 1, as we waited at Prestwick airport, there was a
sense of expectation with the prospect of seeing such famous
monuments as Sagrada Familia and Parc Güell. After a flight
and a coach ride to our destination, we arrived at the youth
hostel. A quick twenty-minute lesson on art nouveau brought
us up to speed on some of what we would see the next day. .jpg)
Twenty-one 4th and 5th year Art pupils went to Paris over half term.Sketchbooks were started while still in the departure lounge of Edinburgh Airport and were barely closed again during the following three days. .jpg)
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During the first week of the Easter holidays, 35 pupils and 5 staff went to Washington and New York to visit some of the finest art galleries and to see some of the best known pieces of art in the flesh, whilst also discovering countless new artists for further exploration. Armed with personalised sketchbooks and pencil cases the group demonstrated considerable stamina over the week and came back with books full and minds overloaded. We visited the This page is: Edinburgh Academy / curriculum / art / visits.htm
