As you may have read on my About Me page, I teach Technology in a boys school. It’s fun, mostly, and it means that occasionally we get to go on school trips. This week, we took some year 8s to the Tate Modern in London to see the exhibition of Henri Matisse’s work.
I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Fall Out Boy, so when I saw this in the shop at the station i just had to buy it. It definitely kept me occupied during the train journey!
This ship is called the Golden Hind and was once captained by Sir Francis Drake. It’s now open for visitors to climb aboard and take a look around. On our way back to the station after our visit, there was a group of young boys all dressed up as pirates for a Birthday party! How exciting would that be if you were a kid?!
I love the old, cobbled streets of London…
Sadly, there was a very strict ‘No Photography’ rule in this particular exhibition, but my very naughty colleague managed to sneak this cheeky shot on her iPhone (tut tut!)
I must say, going to this exhibit really exceeded my expectations. Pupils learn about Matisse in year 8 for part of their studies but having never seen his work, I’d never been able to fully appreciate how much work went into his art and just how many pieces he produced!
In his old age, Matisse developed cancer and had nurses looking after him. With his limited movement, he would paint sheets of paper with very specific colours and, once dry, he would ask a carer to hold the paper for him, turning it while he held the scissors to cut out shapes. He would then use a pointer to tell the nurses exactly where to paste the shapes.
The view across the Thames from one of the Tate’s many balconies was beautiful. This is the Millennium Bridge (as featured in the Harry Potter film – although looking very much intact here!)
After a lovely lunch in the sun next to the river, it was time to go home. We were all completely exhausted from the trek in the blistering heat but it was a beautiful day with great company and an interesting exhibit.
