London and Loving it
First off, I have never walked so much in one day before than on this trip but at the same time I am seeing all the great sights. Every morning my colleagues and I meet in the common room after a hot English breakfast and discuss what amazing place we are going to see. The group is awesome and the museums and churches are so large I always feel rushed out of them in order to meet up at the next one but thats the way it has to be in order to stay on schedule. There is so much culture and history in London and especially Paris. Paris was my favorite of the two cities even though their was a language barrier it really opened up my eyes to how difficult it is for foreigners who I have encountered back home in the states. It just makes me appreciate their will to explore other corners of the world and try to immerse themselves in that environment. It is an awakening experinece to be on the other side of that situation. If it wasn’t for most of the Parisians being able to speak english I would have had an even more difficult time getting around or even ordering a meal in a cafe.
The museums have been such an inspiration to me as far as my artwork is considered. I have so many new ideas and thoughts on what I want my art to convey and how to convey it. For example, I didn’t think I would ever really be one to think about making installations but since I arrived in the U.K. I have seen amazing installations in such museums as the Tate Modern and the Pompidou Centre. I have always had a great appreciation for found art and objects that are generally percieved as junk untill they are all arranged and turned into a creative composition. It’s then that people begin to think twice when they look at a particular object. I love Londons city streets because their is always something that will catch my eye, wether it be a manhole with an interesting texture or pattern or just a pile of tree limbs that fell in a park and would make a great concentration for a still life or something as ordinary as moss growing on rocks alongside a river. This city is full of these sorts of things and I can’t wait to bring these thoughts back to the states with me and lock myself in the studio.
We have also taken several trips to sacred cathedrals, such as St. Pauls in London and Notre Dame and Saint Chartres in France. Visiting these places and listening to guides speak about them with such emotion and consideration for the heartships people went through to errect such gorgeous monuments in the name of the lord was a breathtaking experience. I had an idea of what I might feel when I went to these places in person but when you just learn about them through textbooks you have no idea of how important they truly are. It has been a very humbling experience all around and has given me much to relfect on.
Of course, I have to mention the nightlife in the U.K. because it is incredibly fun and always exciting. Other than the prices of drinks and food it doesnt matter what pub or club you go to you are practically gauranteed a great time. The community in London is very diverse and extremly friendly. You never know who you are going to strike up a conversation with or where they’re from over a delicious pint of their finest local ale. The culture in Paris is like nothing I have ever seen before. Streets are paved in arch patterns and loads of unique little shops line modest side streets where you never know who or what you might encounter just around the corner and it makes it all the more exciting and curious. I am looking forward to the upcoming scheduled events and plays and will be recording all my thoughts in my journal (by the way thanks emily for the journal you got me for christmas it’s perfect). Hopefully I will have more interesting pictures to post in the near future.
-Daniel Ayers
