Granite and Gesso

 Before I start, I just want to be really clea, we loved it and we had a great evening.  We would recommend Hall for Cornwall's panto to anyone.  It's a real feel good show, with great effects and plenty of laughs.  Really lovely for the whole family.  Looking forward to next years Dick Whittington and his Mousehole Cat.  We already have tickets. So why am I saying this first up?  Well, in comparison to last years Jack and the Beanstalk, it wasn't quite as good.  I have spent a lot of time thinking about why and I don't know that I have fully nailed it down. British panto has a lot of aspects that you expect to see, certain tropes.  You expect a dame, who is a man dressed as a woman.  You expect a baddie to boo and hiss at.  Then there is the whole, they're behind you and also the oh yes they are, oh no they are not.  There will be some singing with a competition between the two sides of the theatre.  There will be a panto...

 The gallery is the home of the Penwith Society of Arts and provides a gallery space for it's members and associate members.  It's a really interesting building which was previously a pilchard packing factory.  I had not been there before but stumbled upon it by accident and decided to go in.  I don't always feel comfortable going into some of the smaller art galleries but the Penwith Gallery was a comfortable space to access.  It's free but you can make a donation. The current exhibition of work by members and associate members runs until the 5th January with the next exhibition starting on the 23rd January.  When I visited, there was also a side gallery with an exhibition of paintings by Bruce Timson, but this ended on the 1st December and is being replaced by a christmas market from the 5th.   The artists represented are diverse and in many ways, I found it more accessible than the Tate itself.  The Tate is trying to be interesting while a...

 This is a lovely place, one of my favourites.   It is situated away from the sea little in St Ives.  It would be easy to walk past, no sign of the garden can be seen beyond the wall.  Its a very serene and private spot, even in the centre of town.  I can see why it appealed to Barbara Hepworth. As you enter, there is a small museum that looks at the events of Barbara's life downstairs before moving upstairs to a gallery and some of smaller indoor sculptures and art.  As you pass outside, you can peer in to her old workshops, conserved as they largely were when she died, work in progress and all.  She was a much tidier worker than me, or someone conserves it in a considered state.  Either way, it would be easy to imagine her walking in and picking up where she left off. The garden is the absolute jewel though.  It isn't very big but that doesn't matter.  It is crammed full of beautiful sculptures but the lush vegetation means that y...

 This exhibition runs until 28th February 2026 The room hosting this exhibition is pretty small, but that doesn't matter as the items it holds are generally small but full of exquisite, and tiny, detail.  Looking at photos of the pieces, it's clear that they are beautiful but they become 2D and they lose something.  In person the delicate edition of fine fabrics and embroidery is clear.  These are subtly 3D and it just doesn't photograph well.  Its easy to assume everything is 2D in a photo.  I loved the multimedia aspect.  I liked the colours and the imagery.  The pieces are incredibly delicate and pretty. This is the surface level though. The words Ilya choses to add to her pieces make a clear point, which is always good for me!  Ilya asks the question what are we doing about climate change?  Why are we not doing more?  What things are getting in the Way?  It's clear Ilya is trying to understand the issues around climate chan...

 This exhibition runs until the 31st January 2026. The heart of this exhibition, is tucked away in a corner, behind a screen so it does not immediately reveal itself.  Twelve residents of Cornwall who originally come from a different country were invited to produce a diorama of their story.  Each of these people were paired with a local artist to make the diorama. As you walk in to the gallery, you are met with many photographs of the people who took part.  Faces of concentration, happiness, friendship and collaboration.  Looking at the photo's it's not easy to tell who is who.  It does not matter though.  Emotions do the talking here. I adored the dioramas.  Little tiny windows in to people's lives.  Underneath each was a bit about the person whose story they told.  People from different parts of the world with very different experiences.  Amongst the beauty of the art, there are stories of hardship and loss.  These are not pe...

 This exhibition runs until the 31st January 2026 Over 150 artists contributed pieces to this exhibition and the variety was tremendous and the talent unmistakable.  Submissions were invited from any artist in Cornwall and this year, there was a record number.  Not all pieces could be displayed but a video was made of those not selected which was also played in the gallery. The vast majority of the were displayed on the walls and there were far fewer sculptural or 3D pieces.  Many of the pieces were for sale, which was great for both the artists and the museum. Honestly, it was a lot to take in and I will see this exhibition again before it finishes.  I am sure I will be drawn to completely different pieces next time and see things I didn't see this time. Visitors were invited to vote for the piece that made them happiest, the most skillful and the best in show as part of the People's Choice Awards.  Voting closes on the 24th December and the results will b...

 I like to go to the theatre and I often browse the events coming up at the Hall for Cornwall.  This was one of those random events I really wanted to go to after reading the description.  In the summer, we went to two productions at the Minack Theatre. The first was Les Miserables, which was put on by an amalgamation of several local amateur dramatics groups.  Everyone know Les Miserables and it's a lot to live up to but I really believe that the cast did as well as any west end production.   The second was Tommy done by the British Theatre Academy.  We like the Who but had not listened to the music for Tommy as a whole in forever and I don't think we really thought about the plot.  It was deeply emotional and a little disturbing in places.  It is not a comfortable watch.  What made the production all the more incredible is it was a youth theatre group from London and again, they were just as polished and talented as any adult cast of p...