FERENS ART GALLERY
FERENS ART GALLERY
**Please note that the Bagpuss Exhibition has now ended at The Gallery. Check The Website listed below for details of current exhibitions...)
I can’t draw or paint. It is a standing joke in our household that any animal I try and draw looks like a poorly drawn cat and that The Child is actually much more skilled at drawing than I am. The Dog would be better at it as well probably. I am however OK with that. I have accepted this fact and instead am happy to admire those who can actually put pen, pencil or paint to paper and actually create something that people enjoy looking at.
There is lots to enjoy looking at in the newly refurbished Ferens Art Gallery. Old masterpieces to modern works, there is something there for everyone. I do like popping into Ferens. I find the atmosphere in there very calming and there is always something else to see that you have not seen before.
The Child also enjoys popping in from time to time. There is a Children’s Gallery aimed at children from 0-5 where you can create, play and explore. It introduces textures, you can build a little wall, you can squish the coloured liquid under your feet and you can draw your own picture to put on the wall (mine was rejected as being too rubbish – not really but the drawings by the children were certainly better than mine!)
We went in again last week as there is a Clangers, Bagpuss and Co. exhibition on (until the end of July 2018). The Child has been watching Bagpuss and Ivor the Engine at school in the last few weeks and was very keen to go and see the original Bagpuss. We popped in after school and it was perfect timing as it was fairly quiet and we got to have a really good look at what was going on. It was lovely to see Bagpuss, Emily and co but I couldn’t believe how old they looked – made me feel super old.
There was also an Ipad set up to make a stop-motion video with Ivor the Engine pieces and we had a whole lot of fun doing this. Bascially, the Ipad is set up so you take a photo of the picture, then you move the pieces along a little then take another photo and continue doing this until you have taken enough photos to merge them together to make an animation. It made us both realise just how much effort and patience it must have taken in the day to make all these children’s animations. The Child is quite keen to make more stop animation videos which I think is a jolly good idea – will fill some of those summer holiday days anyway. Although I hope he is not expecting me to do any illustrations because that is clearly a non-starter!
The icing on the cake to this was a quick visit to the Ferens shop where they have a Bagpuss for sale and not only is it a very soft, cuddly Bagpuss, it is a wheat-filled, lavender scented microwaveable Bagpuss, which makes him into the warmest, snuggliest Bagpuss ever. I must admit I am tempted to go back and get one for myself...
Ferens Art Gallery in Hull gets a big tick from me, and a big tick from The Child ✔️✔️
Useful Information:
The Ferens Art Gallery is in the City Centre of Hull, near to the Maritime Museum. It is open 10am-5pm, Monday to Saturday and 11am-4.30pm on Sundays. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing. There is also a cafe in the gallery.
Links:
www.hcandl.co.uk/museums-and-galleries/ferens
You can watch our stop motion video below: