Pamela louderback, Day 84

As with previous days, today was an early and full day.  After a full English breakfast, the Fulbright group met in the front lobby of the Penventon and departed promptly at 8:30 for St. Ives.  We had a pleasant 45 minute coach ride to St. Ives where we were given a guided tour of the Tate St. Ives gallery.  The current exhibit was Peter Lanyon.  Peter Lanyon has come increasingly to be seen as one of the most important innovative figures in twentieth century British art. Lanyon was the leading exponent of abstract expressionism in Britain in the 1950s. Art critics say he developed a new language for painting with his unmatched formal and technical experimentation. Though his roots were in the Constructivism of Naum Gabo, he saw himself as remaking the tradition of landscape painting, using landscape and places to express ideas about states of being and the human condition.

Studies and displays of Lanyon's art have often focused on the places and experiences from which he said his works derived. This exhibition will seek also to throw light upon the technical qualities of the work, to emphasise his technical innovation and progression.  Our tour guide was very informative as he shared information (both personal and professional) regarding Peter Lanyon and Lanyon's body of work from his early period through to his untimely hand-gliding accident and death.  After seeing some of Lanyon's work at the Ulster Museum in Belfast, I have become to appreciate his work so getting to see more works at St. Ives and finding out more personal information (as well as professional) about Lanyon and his work, was a treat for me.  Additionally, there were some sculptures from his studio of pieces he used as inspiration for his paintings.  The sculptures were featured alongside his paintings.

After our tour at the Tate St. Ives, we walked several blocks to the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden.  Barbara Hepworth was an English sculptor whos work exemplifies Modernism; she is considered to be one of the key players who helped to develop modern art (sculpture in particular). 
The Museum and Sculpture Garden in St. Ives, Cornwall preserves the 20th century sculptor's studio and garden much as they were when she lived and worked there.  On the ground floor, there are displays of photos ranging from her early days throughout her career as an artist.  On the second floor, many of her pieces are displayed.   The studio, known as Trewyn Studio, was purchased byb Ms. Hepworth in 1949, and is typical of the stone-built houses in St Ives. She and her husband were vacationing in Cornwall when World War II broke out and at the suggestion of many, she decided to stay instead of returning to war torn London. 

Her living room is furnished as she left it, while the workshop remains full of her tools and equipment, materials, and part-worked pieces.  She died in bed after falling asleep while smoking a cigarette.  Her studio are has been left exactly how it was found when staff arrived the following day.   Steps from the second floor down to the first floor lead out to the Garden area where many of her favorite pieces are on display.  The garden was an essential part of  Ms. Hepworth's creative process and when she died it opened to the public as a permanent setting to exhibit her works.  Original works were in marble, stone, and wood medium.  Her workshop also includes a queue of uncut stones of marble.When she first arrived at Trewyn Studio, Hepworth was still largely preoccupied with stone and wood carving, but during the 1950s she increasingly made sculpture in bronze as well. Later in her career, she used plaster over chicken wire to create larger works in a shorter period of time -- to meet the demands of the public for her works.  Pieces were then cast in bronze.  This led her to create works on a more monumental scale, for which she used the garden as a viewing area. The bronzes now in the garden are seen in the environment for which they were created, and most are in the positions in which the artist herself placed them.

After the group toured the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, we made our way on foot through the cobbled downtown streets to the harbour where we had a group photo in front of the Celtic Sea.  The group farewell lunch took place at the Onshore Restaurant in St. Ives that boasts "serving the finest Seafood, Pasta, Vegetarian, Pizza and Drinks in Cornwall and the South West of England."  After having sampled my Seafood Risotto, they have my vote!  The food is spectacular and the view is amazing -- situated on the wharf on the St. Ives Harbour edge, you can enjoy the beauty of the bay and harbour area teaming with boats, sea gulls and I even spotted several seals bobbing their heads above the water. 

We had some free time to explore the local area before the coach departed for St. Erth station.  Many of us shopped a bit and then headed for the beach to enjoy the sand and surf.  There were quite a few locals surfing and walking their dogs on the beach.  By 3:00 p.m. we met the coach for our trip to St. Earth where we made our onward journeys.