First Solo Trip to Wellington

The fact that I'm writing this post means that I managed to survive on my own in Wellington. I went down for uni, a compulsory contact course which to be honest is what put me off from doing the degree sooner. My good old friend anxiety convinced me that I wouldn't be able to manage on my own in a city far away from home and I always felt I was one step away from having a panic attack. Happy to say there were no panic attacks and thanks so copious amounts of pre-planning I managed to get myself around the city.

The first obstacle occurred before I even reached Wellington. Getting on a big metal craft and being propelled high off the ground. I've always fantasised about travelling to amazing locations but I always block out the fact that I'm kind of nervous when it comes to flying. I know it's the safest way of transport but your still trapped high off the ground with no control. The plane to Wellington had a TV which was great, I distracted myself by watching a movie. I've noticed my nerves follow a pattern, I get really anxious and nervous in the days leading up to it but when I'm actually on the plane I had this weird calmness come over me. That, however, disappears when there's turbulence and you feel the plane go up and down.

When I safely made it onto the ground I successfully found the bus and got into the city. I checked into my motel, dumped my suitcase and wandered around the city. An observation I made is that Wellington is very confusing to navigate. With Auckland, you've got Queen Street which cuts right down the middle but Wellington is like a grid. I'd often lose my bearings but after some walking I'd find my way out. Another thing which I'd stupidly forgotten is that Wellington is very windy. I packed a cardigan at the last minute which was a lifesaver cause it was a bit chilly. 

The majority of Saturday & Sunday was dedicated to the contact course. First off I had to find my way to Massey which got a bit confusing but I figured it out. The highlight of the whole weekend would of have to have been going behind the scenes at Te Papa and looking through the collections in storage. Collection Care is the area I'm most interested in so it was fascinating to see everything.

Monday was my last day; I checked out, saw a movie, caught the bus back to the airport and flew back to Auckland. Of course, I got there a few hours early but I would rather wait than be in a panic rushing. Was once again nervous for the flight, the plane I was on unfortunately didn't have a TV + my phone was playing it up so it wasn't playing music properly. There was a bit of turbulence, most of the flight I couldn't see a thing but I made it back to a wet Auckland in once piece. 

It was probably one of the longest weekends ever but I enjoyed most of it and reminded me why I'm doing the degree in the first place.

Ashley xx

The Corsini Collection: A Window On Renaissance Florence | Auckland Art Gallery

Wednesday was the day in which I finally went and marvelled at the current exhibition at Auckland Art Gallery. The Corsini Collection: A Window On Renaissance Florence truly excited me as it's very rare (not at all) that works from this time period actually go on tour let alone come here. The Italian Renaissance was basically my main area of interest at uni, I did my dissertation on a series of Renaissance works by Titian. As surmised by the name of the exhibition the works are from the collection of the Corsini family who were a family of prominence in Florence. A contemporary family of theirs was the Medici who I first studied all the way back in high school. I don't recall ever hearing about the Corsini family which is interesting given how influential they were in Florence.

The first three rooms were kind of in chronological order. The first thing you see is the Corsini family tree and starts off with the Renaissance and moves towards the Baroque period. As well as paintings there were examples of cookware as well as 19th-century costumes members of the family wore which was amazing. A dining table was set up in one room which was accompanied by operatic music and there were also drawings & prints from the collection. The last room of the exhibition nicely combined the two worlds with works from the gallery collection displayed which tied into the rest of the exhibition.

Photography (not flash) was allowed so I took a couple of pictures of the works I loved the most.

Copy, preparatory sketch of 'Portrait of Pope Julius II della Rovere' by Raphael. 1511-12

'Saint Simon' by Tintoretto, c. 1585

'Saint Andrea Corsini' by Guercino, 1630

As you can see from the title the Corsini family can boast about having a family member made a saint. Another thing about the painting are the obvious bullet holes, I overheard the story from a tour that was happening. So during WW2 the Nazi's just took artworks from museums & homes. To combat this Princess Elena Corsini drove a truck with the paintings to the family villa of Le Corti. They were hidden behind a false wall and this painting was hung on it to protect the collection. When the Germans arrived they saw the wet plaster and having not enough time to dismantle the wall they shot at it believing people to be in the room. None of the paintings inside were damaged so the family saint really did protect them. 

'Madonna and Child with Six Angels' by Botticelli and Workshop, c. 1500

'Portrait of Maffeo Barberini' by Caravaggio, c. 1597

Costume worn by Anna Barberini Corsini, 1887

Unsurprisingly I highly recommend this exhibition, it's absolutely amazing to see works of artists I studied throughout my time at university. I loved it so much I even bought the exhibition catalogue, so now I can just flick through the book and reminisce.

The exhibition is on until 21 January 2018 and the admission is $19 for adults.

Have you seen the Corsini exhibition?

Ashley xx

Behind the Scenes Tour: Auckland Art Gallery

I wasn't planning on doing a post on this but after doing it yesterday I just had to write about it. Artweek is currently on in Auckland and there are art installations set up as well as museums/galleries putting on events. One, which I did yesterday, was a behind the scenes tour at Auckland Art Gallery. I did the same tour last year and it is of the different conservation departments. The fact that I've done this tour twice shows just how much I love it. My career goal is to be a paintings conservator so getting to see the work they do was amazing and invaluable.

First off we started down in the 'basement' with the objects conservator. We got to go down in the big service elevator which was cool, it's carried a car as well as Rodin's The Kiss. The objects conservation department was a fairly recent addition, the conservator started seven years ago and before that there wasn't one. One of the things she's working on are the 13 painted glass windows which came from a church in Remuera and was painted by Colin McCahon. I remember seeing these from last year, the paint is flaking off and they're quite large pieces of glass. One of the points the conservator made was that the work done was more to repair/preserve works rather than restoring them.

Next, we went up to the painting conservation area which was the part I was most looking forward too. There were a number of works on display and one of the main problems the conservators showed was tears in artworks. Looking at one of the repaired works it was amazing to see before pictures as well as the use of UV light, when shone onto the painting you can clearly see the tears which are almost invisible to the naked eye. There were two areas in the painting department with the other more researching artists and their practices to make sure the right materials are used. A couple of Francis Hodgkin works were displayed and we got to see a cross-section through a microscope. It was incredible to see all the layers of paint from a tiny part of the work.

Lastly we went to see the paper conservators and saw examples of a variety of  damage. One of them was light and it was amazing to see the difference between the original colour of a material and how much pigment it loses from being in any kind of light. Once again we saw before and after on some works and it's amazing to see the end result.

I absolutely loved the tour and found my passion in painting conservation.

Have you been on any behind the scenes tours?

Ashley xx

August Favourites

And just like that it's Spring. Although today is a bit grey and miserable I have noticed it's lighter in the evenings and am counting down the days till daylight-savings. This month is the blog's 4th birthday which is crazy to think about. I'm planning something special which I've never done before and I'm a bit excited about it. I managed to remember to jot down things that I loved in August which is just three things and I can't think of anything else as I'm writing. Oh well.

Buzzfeed Unsolved

Like most things, I cannot remember exactly how I stumbled upon this but I'm glad I did. So far I think there have only been three seasons and alternates between True Crime & Supernatural. They are hosted by Ryan & Shane who are awesome. Shane wasn't in the first season and it was weird as I started watching during the second, it just felt like something was missing. The guys basically investigate unsolved cases. True Crime, which is the current season, looks into unsolved crimes such as Amelia Earhart, JonBenet Ramsey & this family in Australia that just up and left their house. For me, I love Supernatural the most as the guys actually go to the locations rather than just sitting down and talking about it. It's also hilarious as Ryan is a believer in the supernatural and always ends up terrified while Shane thinks it's all fake and is just so chill in these creepy places. They balance each other out.

Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino

I've never been a coffee drinker. This is mostly down to the fact that I just don't like hot or warm drinks. Anything that is not refreshing cold just feels off to me. Thanks to social media I felt a little left out being a non-coffee drinker so decided to try the frappuccinos from Starbucks. Caramel is life so of course, it's my go to. It took a while but now I love them. I got a new volunteer position in the city so before I go in I pick up one to enjoy before working. I haven't had one in a couple of weeks and all I can do is think about them. I am low-key addicted now.

Museo del Prado Instagram

I follow quite a few museums & art galleries on Instagram. It's the kind of content I'm all about. For a while now you could do a live video and the Prado museum in Madrid has taken full advantage of it. The videos are mostly walk-throughs of a room in the museum and you get to see how the art is displayed. Obviously, the person who does it speaks Spanish so I don't understand them at all but it really hasn't been a problem as it is just walking through the galleries. However, they did do a live video in the conservation department which is my absolute dream job so I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't understand anything. I'm hoping other museums/galleries start doing it. The National Gallery did one and I'm hoping they'll do more. 

What were you loving in August?

Ashley xx

June Favourites

As June comes to a close I couldn't forgo my monthly favourites post. I actually remembered to jot some things done so had to go through with actually writing a post. We're over half way through the year which is unbelievable to think about. It doesn't really feel like it. My days just seem to blur together and with no differentiation in my life, it's all the same. There's actually quite a number of things I've been loving this month and includes a couple that only occurred within the last couple of days.

Melodrama

Lorde released her new album a few weeks ago and I've been loving it. I actually like all of the songs on the album which is very rare for me and can't stop listening. My favourites are Sober, Homemade Dynamite, Sober II (Melodrama), The Louvre & Green Light.

Versailles

I briefly mentioned this in my last post and is my latest obsession. The show follows Louis XIV and starts around the time where he turns Versailles into a palace and makes it the centre of his power and rule. The costumes are stunning and some scenes are actually filmed at Versailles which is cool. I think my favourite character would have to be Philippe, the king's brother. He's the best.

Why Millenials Move Overseas

Over June Britney uploaded a three-part series which looks into why millennials move overseas. She interviews her friends who have moved, ones that haven't as well as figuring out if it is something that is for her. I loved this series as it is something that I've been thinking about as well. A friend of mine moved to Canada to work for a couple of years or so and since she told me I started to wonder why I wasn't planning on doing anything. This feeling happens to me a lot, I see people doing stuff which in turn makes me feel bad about not doing it. It's something I want to do but not yet. You can watch her videos here. 

The Body Laid Bare

I only went and saw this yesterday so it is somewhat fresh in my mind. The artworks in the exhibition are from the Tate in London, it explores the way artists have depicted the human form from the 1700s to the 2000s. The exhibition is laid out chronologically so you start out with the earliest artworks and from room to room you move through time. I loved this exhibition, as an art history student it felt familiar and like home walking around and examining the art. I think overall I liked the first room with the earliest art the most, the works were more similar to that of the Renaissance period which is my main area of interest. I also loved seeing art from artists I studied back in high school in the flesh. It was a somewhat surreal experience to be able to see a Matisse, Picasso, de Chirico & Max Ernst in person. Special mention also to Auguste Rodin's The Kiss which was breathtaking. The exhibition is on until July 16 at the Auckland Art Gallery.

Watercolours

Painting is something I've wanted to get back into for a while and finally did it. At the moment I'm really interested in watercolours and how you can affect the art just by adding more water. I'm a little rusty so I'm going to try not get too discouraged with how average I am and keep at it.

What have you been loving in June?

Ashley xx