The Barbican Conservatory

The first time I visited the Barbican - it was on a sleety day in March, with my friend Tam to see an exhibition. I had seen pictures, and knew I would enjoy the architecture, the feel of the place, but didn't realise quite how much I would love it. I love the shapes, the styles, the plants and the water mixed with the harsh grey brick everywhere. 

At one point, I discovered that there was a conservatory there, and made it my mission to find it and visit it: a simple task, you might say. It only opens on Sunday's, and until very the end of 2014, I worked most Sundays. I think I made three attempts at visiting it, even getting as far as Waterloo once, before having to turn back. 

For my thoughts on the conservatory, keep reading..

musings from a day in london

When I was at university, I used to visit London every couple of weeks for shows, gallery visits, exhibitions or for work experience. Between leaving uni, becoming really disenchanted with art and galleries and the entire world of it all, and returning to my quiet little town - I sort of forgot how interesting the city was. I went up for the day with my mum, and although we didn't really do a great deal, it just felt really good to be there again. 

We had a look around the National Gallery - I made a deal with myself a few months ago to try and make the effort to see more of the collections that the London galleries and museums have (I normally only visit to see exhibitions, and forget that the galleries actually own some amazing things), so we saw the Peder Balke exhibition, which was stunning, and had a leisurely wander around some of the rooms. After that we wandered up to Oxford Street, got lunch at Le Comptoir Libonais (I cannot resist the call of lebanese food when I'm in that bit of London), ate far too much houmous, labneh and baba ganoush (both of which I really want to try making) before we spent a long time browsing all that Oxford Street had to offer..

I didn't buy anything, the weather was bitterly cold and grey all day and a woman at the train station told me I couldn't handle my coffee (lady, please), but at the end of the day it just made me really excited to be in London again. When I was at uni, it was drilled into me by completely and ridiculously pretentious tutors, that if I wasn't making artwork every second, going to every exhibition opening, doing everything possible to make it as an artist, then what was the point of being interested in art? Obviously I know this is absurd, but when you're told these kind of things daily, you start to think you're worthless if you don't want those things. I forget that you can be interested in art, just as a spectator, as a bystander, as someone that makes art and finds it really interesting, without making it, or obsessing over it..

I'm not sure why I felt the need to write this, but I did - maybe I wanted to remind myself that it's alright to just want to look at art and history and the act of viewing it to be enough. If you think you're not educated enough or you don't know enough, that's rubbish: it's alright to not care about the theory behind it, or know the artist's back catalogue... I really just want to find things in the world that I like, that make my life a little bit better and my heart a bit warmer.

lazy london

Whenever I go up to London, I always seem to be in a rush. I don't know why, but it just happens that way - I'm either rushing to get a train, for an appointment, to visit someone or something. It's rare that I have an easy day in the city, but last week it was exactly that. I woke up early enough to not have to rush to the station, got a train ahead of time, and wasn't late meeting Laura - all good things. I haven't seen her in several years, but she recently found out her visa was approved for Canada, and she will be emigrated in a month or so, so it was high time we caught up. We went to Loop in Islington, somewhere I've wanted to visit for a while, and had an amazing breakfast at The Breakfast Club, surrounded by awkward hipsters. We then had a little stroll along the south-bank, got some ice-lolly's and sat in the sunshine, which was really lovely. (I also got to browse the new Foyles in Waterloo station as I had to hang about there for my train, which was cool.) 

There really is something about London in the sunshine, it just makes me feel like summer is just around the corner...

barbican dreams

These photos seem like such a long time ago now, but I can still remember how bitterly cold it was when me and my friend Tam visited the Barbican for the first time earlier this year. Would you believe we went in March and it was that cold?! I remember walking from St. Pauls with her, where we'd had lunch at Pizza Express, to the Barbican art gallery in the sleet and the bitter wind and both of us being freezing.
I found these photos whilst looking for something else and it reminded me how much I loved the place. I've got a real thing for brutalist architecture of the 60's, like the Hayward gallery on the Southbank, and I really loved the little glimpses of greenery with the concrete - it all reminds me very much of my favourite novels, where nature starts to take over the the cities... I'm sure there is something in Drowned World to do with the Barbican centre, but I can't remember. 

These little gardens out into the water are just perfect, and the palm trees with the circular windows and such are just completely my thing.. it's such a shame I'd need upwards for £500k to live there... One day though, eh? 

convent covent

sunning ourselves in covent garden

obligatory amazing ice-cream!

chanel black-cabs with a twist

On Tuesday last week I had the pleasure of meeting my lovely friend Tam in London. She doesn't really live close to me (although closer than when she lived in America!) so we try and meet up every so often so we can catch up and gossip. Soon she will be moving to London and I am so excited to be able to see her more often! We planned on seeing The Dark Knight together because we both have a long-running love of superhero films and comic books and all such lovely things. Before we saw it though, we met up in Covent Garden in the sweltering heat and had lunch, ice-cream and a wander around, even seeing the awesome Chanel pink taxis outside the pop-up shop! I didn't go in because there was a queue, and I knew I would just spend money there.. We saw the film which was pretty awesome, and regardless of its flaws, I fell in lust with Christian Bale all over again. There is just something about him in a suit..?! He's even attractive in American Psycho.. maybe that's just me! We headed back to Covent Garden after the film to get dinner, and we had really awesome burgers and beer at a place called Byron Burgers, which were surprisingly reasonably priced for London! And then I got a sleepy train home and slept very well. It was just a really nice day, and I had been feeling down for a couple of days and it just made me feel so much better. Maybe it was seeing a good friend, a good film, or just remembering that there is life outside my little town, but it was a good day!