LONDONIST

Cool London Info and Blog...

Londonist

More Fun Artistic London!

LONDON 2009!

Well as we approach another Holiday season it's time to gear up for what is becoming our annual London trip! March seems like a long ways away, but it'll be upon us before we know it. The tickets have been booked! The hotel is reserved! The fun is just beginning!

This year we'll be flying on Air Canada with a short stop over in Toronto on our way to London's Heathrow Airport. Should be exciting! One great thing is that from Heathrow we can catch the Heathrow Connect train to Paddington Station where our hotel(The London Lodge) is just a few blocks away!

Air Canada
Heathrow Connect
The London Lodge


Lambert-St. Louis International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport
London Heathrow Airport

ART CLUB BOXATHON!

London on Film!

Support Art Club!

Some More Films From the 2008 Trip!

Well Well Well! We're Back At It!

We're back in the swing of things and looking forward to this Spring's trip to London. A new batch of eager Art Students ready to take on a series of new endeavors. Looks like we'll be doing a mural and a few other Community Service projects this Fall. Please keep in mind we are always looking for anyone willing to donate to the cause. This years group is larger and due to the rising price of oil... the overall price is larger! If anyone is interested in putting a donation towards a good cause, if you know of anyone who would like to Sponsor the Art Club in this amazing opportunity, please have them contact our Faculty Sponsor, Adam Watkins, Art Instructor at East Central College. His email is: awwatkins@eastcentral.edu
Many Thanks!

London Montage!

What City Do You Belong In? I took the test-Go Figure!

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

London Scenes

Here a few quick films of London street life! ENJOY!

Hey More London Pics!!!

Braden Bauman, Rebecca Tochtrop, Janet Simpson, Robert Sachse, Coty Colson, Sarah Jones, Amanda Aicholtz and Adam Watkins

More Images-LONDON!

HOME!

Well we have all arrived back home. It was a long day home - almost 26 hours with flight delays and all. At least the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport is pretty cool! The Sky Link provided some fun! Well I'm sure everyone is as tired as myself so when we regain our wits we'll add some more pics and info form our journey!

Thanks-ECC Art Club

More Fun In London

Well here is a smattering of pics-some arty some sights some cool! We've all had a great time! A renewed sense of belonging and independence! We've seen some pretty amazing stuff, been to some historic places. The world is now indeed smaller. Tomorrow begins our trek home! A very long trek!!!!! When we get back we will continue to get images up on this sight to again act as a document of our journey. We need to sift through pics on 8 different cameras and film we shot on old school 8mm film cameras. We're going to put together a short film that documents the trip. See you all soon!

Canterbury (a day late)

Sorry this is a day late, but everyone has been hustling and bustling around. There's so much to do!


So, yesterday we hopped the train to Canterbury to visit Adam's old university and take in the sights. It was quite the interesting little town, with ancient buildings juxtaposed with modern life. We spent the first part of the day at University College for the Creative Arts (formerly Kent Institute of Art and Design) where Adam's old professor gave us a tour around. It was a neat little campus. We gathered up info brochures and he answered questions and we went on our way to the see rest of Canterbury.

So.... onward to Canterbury Cathedral. There really aren't words that would do it justice, so I'll stick with pictures.




After that we all broke off to do our own thing around town. There were plenty of little shops and restaurants around. Most everyone bought souvenirs. The square around the cathedral was quite entertaining, and there were plenty of street performers.... and the justice league.....


After that, I went off to the park to snap some photos of the gardens and the medieval wall.




After a long day, we hopped the evening train back to Central London. After a quick nap, some of us went back out exploring. Then collapsed.

PS: Rob bought new pants

The Tate Modern

Today we visted the Tate Modern. This museum was once a power plant and is now a seven story art mecca. It's simply massive, and with so much to see, we spent a good chunk of our day here. Rothko, Rauschenburg, Richter, Lichtenstein, Warhol, Monet, Matisse, Picasso, Man Ray, Duchamp, we saw it all!



This is the view from the 5th floor down into the Turbine hall. The featured installation is Doris Salcedo’s Shibboleth, a chasm that stretches the entire length of the Tate's bottom floor (nearly 600 feet).

After that, we wondered about for awhile, enjoyed the city, ate fish and chips, and went back to the hotel to rest our weary legs.



Public art at the Gloucester tube station, an 8 ft panda head.



Adam teaching and stuff. He'll do that from time to time.

Trafalgar Square

Today we went to Trafalgar square, infront of the National Gallery on a walking tour of London. This is Janet infront of the National Gallery, feeding/being attacked by pidgeons! We also visited speakers corner, the Princess Diana memorial in Kensingon Park, and had lunch in Lester Square, walked through SoHo, visited St. Pauls, Parliment, and Big Ben!

Arrived

Hey we have arrived safe and sound. Most everyone is wiped out and sleeping. We're having some internet issues, but we'll try to get it sorted-at least we can type words-images may come later. The flights were good except we all got a little stir crazy as our flight into London got extended a bit as we had to circle the airport for about half an hour-and after an 8 1/2 hour flight enough is enough. Strong winds today in London and we also saw a spot of snow for about 15 minutes! Very Strange indeed. Hope no one has gotten flooded out and we'll post more later!

Airline and Airport Info!

American Airlines

Lambert-St. Louis International Airport

BAA London Gatwick Airportrt

London Underground Art

Gloucester Road Station
This tube stop at Gloucester Road is the one closest to our hotel, ADAMOTEL. Art IS all around us!

Some London Art Podcasts!

Louise Bourgeois at Tate Modern

Imagine Art After

Looted Art

Arts and Ideas

Easter In London

London's Easter Activites

London's Major Attractions

Visit London

Time Out London

Check Out Some Of What We're Going To See!

Victoria & Albert Museum

The British Museum

The Tate

The Hayward Gallery

The National Gallery

ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art)

The Saatchi Gallery

UCCA-University College for the Creative Arts

Imperial War Museum

Design Museum London

St Martins-in-the-Fields: Cafe In The Crypt

Canterbury Cathedral

London Tour Video

ITINERARY

DAY 1
Fly overnight to London, England

DAY 2
Arrive in London
Check into hotel
Take a walking tour to familiarize ourselves with the city, sights to include:
Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Covent Garden, The Strand

DAY 3
Morning-
Guided tour of London:
Big Ben, Parliament, Piccadilly Circus, St. Paul’s Cathedral
The Changing of The Guard

Afternoon-
Tate Britain

Evening-
Free time to sightsee, shop and explore

DAY 4
Day Trip!
Canterbury and Dover:
Canterbury City Centre
Tour: KIAD, The University College For The Creative Arts
Canterbury Cathedral, White Cliffs of Dover, Dover Castle
The Port

DAY 5
Morning + Afternoon-
Visit the South Bank:
Tate Modern, Hayward Gallery, London Eye

Evening-
Optional Theatre Performance
TBD

DAY 6
Morning-
The British Museum
Afternoon-
The National Gallery
Evening-
Free time to sightsee, shop and explore

DAY 7
Morning-
ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art, Whitechapel Gallery
Afternoon-
Saatchi Gallery
Evening-
Free time to sightsee, shop and explore

DAY 8
Return flight to USA

Other suggested activities:
The National Portrait Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History museum, the Science Museum, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Hyde Park

ECC Art Club: Mission/Vision

Art Club is a student led organization at East Central College and is sponsored by the ECC Art Department. Art Club seeks to enrich the campus and the community through artistic minded endeavors. Last year Art Club forged a bond with ALIVE of Franklin County. ALIVE (Alternatives to Living in Violent Environments), provides support services and short-term emergency sanctuary to adults and children victimized by domestic violence. This type of community service/outreach has always been and will continue to be close to the heart and at the forefront of Art Club’s ethos, ideas and ideals.

We live in a truly global society. The world is getting smaller and smaller and more accessible all of the time. We must endeavor to make the globe our classroom. This is especially vital in the art classroom/studio. As art students, we spend years looking at images in books, slides projected on the wall and on the internet and the truth is none of these are accurate! Seeing art in the flesh is paramount and as the old adage goes, seeing is believing!

The opportunity to travel abroad is one that should not be taken lightly, but at the same time should be held close to someone’s heart. It is a lifelong learning experience. London, England is just the place to have such an experience. As an art student the experience is that much more impactful as one is surrounded by the works of DaVinci and Monet through Damien Hirst and Gillian Wearing all in the same city and often in the same museum alongside the opportunity to see the spoils of Greece, Rome and Egypt. Students will also get a taste of the gallery scene in one of the most important art cities of the world. This is a cultural experience that one will never forget and will continue to inform oneself for years to come.

I was lucky enough to attend Graduate School in the UK at The Kent Institute of Art and Design now The University College For The Creative Arts. It was a life changing experience and I would like to help foster similar experiences with my students. I will be accompanying the students on this trip and rest assured this is an educational endeavor.

Adam Watkins
ECC Art Club Sponsor
Art Instructor East Central College

ECC Art Club: Countdown To London!

Ladies and Gentlemen...
We are closing in on departure!
Friday the 21st of March is fast approaching! This site will be used to "HOPEFULLY" update our friends and loved ones while we are in London! We can upload photographs and type messages. Again "HOPEFULLY" we'll be on top of our game and update folks as we see new and exciting things. More later!