Year 10 artists hit the beach

The philosophy for our St Ives adventure each year is to take students on a journey to one of the most notoriously inspiring sites in the UK for artists throughout history. We retrace the steps of many pioneering English modernists who swapped war torn London in the 1930s and 40s for the rugged cliffs and famously special light in Cornwall.

Having spoken so effusively about the light, we were a little disheartened on day one to be greeted by grey skies and drizzle, but happily this was quickly replaced with three subsequent days of unbroken sunshine, making the turquoise sea sparkle. The sun-soaked landscape of Cornwall provided a stunning subject for Dulwich boys to absorb themselves in their sketchbooks, drawing the rugged cliffs and mesmerising seascapes.

On Sunday, a visit to the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden provided a beautifully tranquil start to the day, ideal for sketching her sculptures. Later in the day we reconvened at Tate St Ives, to piece together the narrative of the St Ives artists such as Ben Nicholson, Alfred Wallis and Peter Lanyon. The gallery was swapped for the beach late afternoon, and students were challenged to create ambitious sandcastle creations, inspired by the St Ives artists.

Monday was a packed day: a fascinating tour of the Leach Pottery, a visit to Tremenheere Sculpture Garden, a visit to Mark Dion’s permanent installation under Porthmeor Studios, and lastly a visit to Trevor Price’s printmaking studio. For many boys, this last stop was the highlight of the whole trip. Trevor demonstrated a live print of one of his recently produced relief plates and was met with exclamations of surprise and wonder from the boys as he peeled his paper from the printing bed. He was a fantastic advocate for following one’s passions, and working hard.

The final morning was spent making cyanotypes with Rowena Tarplee, which introduced boys to a fantastically historic, but disarmingly simple, photographic process. The train ride back was spent merrily discussing highlights of the trip and playing artist ‘word-snake’. We arrived back at Paddington on Tuesday evening well sunned, with sand in our socks and smiles on our faces.