Plates, paperweights and trays

As I had a day in London last week - I was invited to the Garden Press Event in Islington - I thought I would make the most of the time and pop along to Liberty in the West End, quickly hopping on the tube to reappear in a part of London that is probably more well known, and well visited than Islington.

I’d seen some enamelware that I was keen to buy, and even more keen to avoid the £9 postage fees for, so when I saw that Liberty was a stockist well, it was meant to be wasn’t it? It’s been a while since my last visit, and it’s always an interesting place to window shop. Sadly the enamelware didn’t happen, and I was a tad disappointed by the range they had which was shoved in a corner and took up a whole two shelves. Sigh. I still want the small tray and the small sauce dish, so have ordered online and only winced a little at the high postage costs for three very tiny items.

Yes, I could have trawled around any number of shops in the West End and beyond, but I’m really not that much into shopping. But while I was in Liberty, I did have a mooch around before hitting the fabric and haberdashery departments!

Sidetracked by the lobster and cat’s eyes

I have no need for any paperweights or glass tray-plate-things, but I couldn’t help but admire them and how they were displayed on a simple wooden table. The glass tray-plate-things remind me of those that as growing up older relatives or neighbours would have on their sideboards filled with boiled sweets, or next to their bed for their jewellery. I’m sure there’s a million and one other uses for them, but that’s where my memories took me.

I’m still not sure if I like the tabby cat paperweight or not, I think it’s the tongue for me. Maybe it’s because there were two - double trouble - that I’m not sure. The lobster was a lot less disturbing, and I daren’t look at the price, though I’m sure without looking it was “too much”.

Next I was drawn to a brightly coloured table mat of a hare with what looks like artichokes for ears, yes really.

And that led to the trays

In fact it led to many trays - all of them with drinks emblazoned on. Not all alcoholic - there was tea and coffee too, but for some reason I don’t have photos of those. My next stop after my Liberty mooch was the pub, so perhaps that was it.

Fun aren’t they?

Though again they’re not cheap, starting from £40 and upwards. So if you want a fun boozy or non-boozy tray Liberty could be the place for you - some are available on their website if you’re really keen. And if you want to pop the lobster plate in your basket for me that’d be appreciated, though you’ll have to go in person as thankfully that’s not on their site.

Still feeling slightly miffed about the enamelware, but less so having raised a smile at these trays, I decided to head up to the fabric and haberdashery, that was more successful - though with all the colourful fabrics on show, I think I am probably the only person to leave with two grey patterns, but I’m still sticking to my brief for the extended floral fancy quilt.

I think I took even more photos in those departments, so I’ll share those separately - but before I go an only in Liberty. In their remnants basket there was a bargain silk 1.3 metre remnant for £175. I didn’t leave with that either (it wasn’t grey) but that did make me smile!

Exploring more of the Courtauld Gallery

Whilst we were at the gallery for the Monet and London exhibition we made the most of seeing other exhibits and the spaces that held them

The staircase is pretty spectacular, and was conceived as a symbolic ‘journey to enlightenment’ - with visitors progressing upwards through the building and moving from the dark to light to reach the top-floor landing. We hadn’t realised that and went straight to the top, I guess fast forwarding and possibly missing the enlightenment on offer. It’s a narrow space and the rooms on each floor have narrow ceilings, so the stairs do rise quite steeply on the final stretch.

VASE OF FLOWERS - CLAUDE MONET

As we know Monet painted so much more than the views of the Thames, and just outside the exhibition we stopped alongside this painting which he started in 1881, but signed and sold around 1920. Clearly a different subject and brighter, more floral colours but equally as impressive.

A BAR AT THE FOLIES-BERGERÈ - EDOUARD MANET

This was the painting that was the most recognisable to me from our visit - which I learnt is considered one of the iconic paintings of modern life, and was completed a year before he died in 1883. And while the barmaid is recognisable, I’d not seen the legs and green boots of a trapeze artist in the top left corner, which the blurb says ‘hint at the exciting musical and circus acts entertaining the audience’.

LILIES IN A JAR, 1914 - MATTHEW SMITH

The painting above by Matthew Smith was painting in 1914. Entitled Lilies in a Jar was one of my favourites from the whole day, and he was encouraged by Henri Matisse to ‘paint in a more intense and liberated way’ which makes this still life anything but still - and I’d happily have this one at home.

BALCONY VIEW, IPING CHURCH - 1943 - IVON HITCHENS

The painting above by Ivon Hitchens was painted at the height of the Second World War and after his London home was bombed during the Blitz in 1940. He moved to West Sussex where he painted this view looking towards the church from the balcony of a house. I think this is one you could easily have in your own home, and one that you could spend time looking at, and looking at some more.

ADAM AND EVE, 1326 - LUCAS CRANACH THE ELDER

Another image which may be familiar, and most certainly the subject matter is - but also one that I wouldn’t have been able to name the artist of.

We moved onto the ceramics section and here it was the lustred ceramics that caught my eye. The lustred ceramics would have been a must-have luxury item in the fashionable Renaissance homes, and it’s easy to see why. Lustre is made when a glazed and fired ceramic is painted with metal oxide pigments and fired again at a low temperature with restricted air supply, and results in a metallic film that shimmers in candlelight.

Outside in the December early evening we were now heading off to complete our other plans, but not without stopping and admiring this new-to-us rainbow snake of seating in a part of the Strand which is now pedestrianised, and which I’m sure on warmer days will be much used by both visitors and people working in the area alike.

We enjoyed our visit to the Courtauld Gallery, so if you’re in London and looking for something to do then definitely put this one on your list, and soak up some culture new and old while you’re there. There’s nearly always something going on at Somerset House too - when we visited the Festive ice rink was in full swing, but in the summer it’s also a great place to sit and people watch, it’s just one of those places that is constantly changing and is better for that.

I’m hoping that next time we’re in the area, it’s much warmer so I can try out at least one of the colourful seats!

Visiting the Monet and London exhibition

Back at the start of December we popped to London for the day for a pre-Christmas visit, primarily for our annual steak fest at the gorgeous Hawksmoor restaurant in Air Street and to secure some Fortnum and Mason’s mince pies (side note - this time we opted for the crunchy almond topped mince pies, and they weren’t my favourite). I always like to use days in London to do something we can’t do here - that could be an exhibition, a museum, or something else.

This time though I’d seen that the Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House were hosting a Monet and London exhibition, and so I got us tickets. We’d not been to anything in the gallery before, even though we’d been to events and even a restaurant at Somerset House and that along with seeing some paintings seemed good enough reason to go. It seems though it was a really popular exhibition with notices up when we visited to say that tickets sold out until it closed mid January.

We’re by no imagination huge art aficionados, but we do like to take a look and try to imagine the said art in our house, or not!

As most people probably know Claude Monet is renowned as the leading figure of French impressionism, which changed modern art, and I think probably one of his most famous pieces is the Water Lilies - or at least that’s the one I knew of most. I seem to recall we saw, or at least tried to see one of these paintings in Paris once - so long ago, that if there were pictures they were probably printed photos, and also why my memory is hazy!

Views of the Thames

But as the exhibition blurb goes ‘some of Monet’s most remarkable Impressionist paintings were made not in France but in London’ depicting views of the Thames evoking atmosphere, mysterious light and colour. Paintings begun during three stays in the capital between 1899 and 1901 paintings of Charing Cross Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and the House of Parliament were unveiled in Paris in 1904. Until last year they had never been the subject of an UK exhibition, which I guess explains why they were such hot tickets!

There were 21 paintings in the exhibition and lots of people viewing them - some needing to be right in front of you, or even at the exact spot you were in and couldn’t possibly wait for you to move on - sigh! - though generally most people were much more courteous.

The paintings were definitely worth seeing, my favourites were those of the Houses of Parliament:

HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, SUNSET - 1903 - CLAUDE MONET

LONDON: THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT SHAFT OF SUNLIGHT IN THE FOG - 1904 - CLAUDE MONET

THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT (EFFECT OF FOG) - 1903 - CLAUDE MONET

THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT - 1904 - CLAUDE MONET

The last one above I think is my favourite of these - this was one of the works that he made for the unrealised show in London. He’d been unable to borrow back enough sold paintings from the original series for the exhibition, so set about completing unfinished canvasses left in his studio - which goes to show that having unfinished works in progress is nothing new for crafters and artists today!

He hoped that these newly finished works would be ‘as good as the other ones, if not better’ which is just the inspiration that many of us need to clear through our own stash of half-finished projects, even if we’re nowhere near as talented or prolific as he clearly was.

It was great to see these paintings - and great that his long hoped for exhibition finally took place - we took the chance to see a bit more of the Courtauld Gallery while we were there, so look out for that post soon.