Our date with Tate
(a very backdated post but what the heck)
I look forward to weekends, I really really do.
We have Papa all to ourselves. For 2 WHOLE DAYS! We do things as a family. We enjoy lazy Saturday mornings. Hubs brings Cheeks swimming at the leisure centre. We chill infront of the telly, explore bits of the city, try out different cafes/restaurants - basically savour our last moments in London together.
We have Papa all to ourselves. For 2 WHOLE DAYS! We do things as a family. We enjoy lazy Saturday mornings. Hubs brings Cheeks swimming at the leisure centre. We chill infront of the telly, explore bits of the city, try out different cafes/restaurants - basically savour our last moments in London together.
Since returning from Singapore, we've been trying to fill our weekends with all sorts of activities. But it feels like a race against Time. We're struggling to squeeze in as much as possible, but we're losing months, days, hours, minutes, seconds. Timbaland coolly raps about how he's 'runnin' outta time'. The lyrics - they merely roll off his tongue. Me? I feel it.
And honestly... I'm starting to feel a little desperate here.
This Saturday was supposed to pass like a non-event. For the 1st time in weeks, we hadn't planned to go anywhere, or do anything that would earn us a shiny, new entry in our London logbook.
And honestly... I'm starting to feel a little desperate here.
This Saturday was supposed to pass like a non-event. For the 1st time in weeks, we hadn't planned to go anywhere, or do anything that would earn us a shiny, new entry in our London logbook.
Hubs returned home Friday night absolutely knackered, and a tad flu-ey. So Saturday swimming was off and I thought we'd stay in to let him rest. But after dawdling for a large part of the morning, he suddenly decided no, we ought not waste a perfectly good weekend. So a flurry of last minute ideas began whirring in our heads - visit Portobello Market (again)? See gorillas at the London Zoo? Visit a museum? Which one? Where?
Of course, as luck would have it, by the time we were ready to scoot out of the house, it'd started to drizzle. But then, this IS London. We weren't going to let a few drops of rain hold us back! So off we went.
After a rather silly train ride toggling back and forth on different lines - we changed our minds so many times en route, you see - we found ourselves in the quiet suburb of Pimlico. Home to Tate Britain.
There was a Peter Doig exhibition going on but we're not familiar with his work, so we decided to save our pennies and give it a miss. Once inside, we made a beeline for the free family activity - the Art Trolley.
Located on the first floor of the museum, the Art Trolley is not, as the name suggests, a trolley. It's more like a huge wooden cabinet that's stocked with all sorts of material - artcard, pieces of fabric, textured cardboard, ribbon, string, cellophane etc. The idea is for children to exercise their creativity and produce artwork based on the artpieces they see at the galleries. From the trolley, they are allowed to choose any material they need, place all their supplies on trays provided, then proceed to the various galleries to begin work.
Cheeks chose a painting from the British Art section. She liked it coz it depicted a family scene (it was slightly morose but she didn't notice it so... heck!). And for the next hour and a half, we busied ourselves working on the piece together. Dee and I took turns to help her. We cut out the fabric and icecream sticks for her of course. Everything else she did on her own. The result?
The Saltonstall Family by David des Granges (Tate Britain)
The Saltonstall Family by Cheeks, Dee & Saggs, Tate Britain
Whaddya think?
Although the outing was spent largely helping Cheeks with her artwork, it was still eventful for Dee and me. We took turns exploring the museum - one would sit with Cheeks while the other browsed. So everyone benefitted. Everyone was happy.
It's such a shame the Singapore Museums are still want of such activities for children and families. Kids learn so much from such trips.
An 11 year old shared the bench with us. She was making a room out of cardboard box, magazine cuttings, and bottle caps. After we'd completed our mini project, Cheeks wandered over to lend a helping hand. Together they cut, glued, stuck, and pasted.
Of course, as luck would have it, by the time we were ready to scoot out of the house, it'd started to drizzle. But then, this IS London. We weren't going to let a few drops of rain hold us back! So off we went.
After a rather silly train ride toggling back and forth on different lines - we changed our minds so many times en route, you see - we found ourselves in the quiet suburb of Pimlico. Home to Tate Britain.
There was a Peter Doig exhibition going on but we're not familiar with his work, so we decided to save our pennies and give it a miss. Once inside, we made a beeline for the free family activity - the Art Trolley.
Located on the first floor of the museum, the Art Trolley is not, as the name suggests, a trolley. It's more like a huge wooden cabinet that's stocked with all sorts of material - artcard, pieces of fabric, textured cardboard, ribbon, string, cellophane etc. The idea is for children to exercise their creativity and produce artwork based on the artpieces they see at the galleries. From the trolley, they are allowed to choose any material they need, place all their supplies on trays provided, then proceed to the various galleries to begin work.
Cheeks chose a painting from the British Art section. She liked it coz it depicted a family scene (it was slightly morose but she didn't notice it so... heck!). And for the next hour and a half, we busied ourselves working on the piece together. Dee and I took turns to help her. We cut out the fabric and icecream sticks for her of course. Everything else she did on her own. The result?
The Saltonstall Family by David des Granges (Tate Britain)
The Saltonstall Family by Cheeks, Dee & Saggs, Tate BritainWhaddya think?
Although the outing was spent largely helping Cheeks with her artwork, it was still eventful for Dee and me. We took turns exploring the museum - one would sit with Cheeks while the other browsed. So everyone benefitted. Everyone was happy.
It's such a shame the Singapore Museums are still want of such activities for children and families. Kids learn so much from such trips.
An 11 year old shared the bench with us. She was making a room out of cardboard box, magazine cuttings, and bottle caps. After we'd completed our mini project, Cheeks wandered over to lend a helping hand. Together they cut, glued, stuck, and pasted.
When we were all done, we brought our completed work back to the Art Trolley. Cheeks had her photo taken with her artwork by the museum staff (to be uploaded onto Tate's website). And for being creative, the museum bestowed her with a cool totebag.
What can I say - these museums are awesome.
Cheeks working on her artpiece...
...then gets involved in another project
Cool tote from Tate!
1 comment:
What a delightful pic by Cheeks! We missed the Art Trolley when we went the last time, must go back (for the tote bag, ha!).
Val
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