Barbara and St Ives

St Ives is not what I imagined. It is a small tight town. Stone buildings and narrow winding streets on a steep hill leading down to an idyllic harbour and to the right a large sandy beach.

St Ives is lousy with artists and almost every streets has a gallery on it. We went into quite a few, the best of which was New Craftsman Gallery on 24 Fore Street. We were biguiled in by an exhibition by Akiko Hirai whose open studio I attended at the Chocolate Factory in Shoreditch and purchased one of her bowls.

One of St Ives most famous residents was Barbara Hepworth and there is a great museum in her old studio. There are many fine pieces on display. Outside a number of sculptures are arranged in a very pretty garden. One of them collects rain water which adds to the piece. Another is a collosal structure you can walk through. There was also a wire sculptures which I didn't know Hepworth did and reminded me of Alexander Calder.

A fascinating element of the museum was her workshop was preserved, as were a number of works in progress. This provided a very interesting insight. It was also nice seeing works both in stone and wood.

Later around the town encountered another piece outside the Guildhall.

​Be warned though high season the town can be crowded.