London: Experience of a Student

Clearly every girl has dreamed about the world of design, no matter in which way – as art or fashion. And everyone knows London as a world center of contemporary art in general. Indeed, this city is inspired by art. The British themselves are so keen on it, that such traditional topics for discussion as weather and food give way to discussions of art. If you participate in the arts, you are respected and even admired. No wonder that all modern artists, or those who pretend to be one, look to the British capital. More specifically, they strive for the University of the Arts London as the trendiest university in this sphere. It has formed a generation of well-known artists and designers who are now respected in the world: John Galliano, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Tim Roth, Howard Hodgkin, Charles Saatchi, and Jimmy Choo. It consists of such prominent colleges as Central Saint Martin’s College of Art & Design, London College of Communication, Chelsea College of Art & Design, the London College of Fashion and some others. As short summer course students, we had an opportunity to study inside these colleges during our art classes.

When I arrived there, I found myself in a 100% creative space full of people obsessed by art, even if they had only come to take a short course. I could hardly claim to be a specialist in this sphere, but art and design has always attracted me. In the end it turned out that I was practically the only beginner among professionals who had been in art for many years. I chose the most general course, Art & Design, hoping to gain basic skills. It permitted me to practice my English in the morning and study painting in the afternoon. I also had enough time to enjoy life in London.

The majority of galleries are free which makes it possible for people with different levels of income to become familiar with masterpieces, therefore, art is quite normal for all people regardless of their social status. From my experience, the most attractive galleries are devoted to contemporary art. This is understandable, because British art specializes in it. The most famous gallery of this trend – Tate Modern – is really the spot to go even if you are not a worshipper of contemporary art. No other place in the city could make you grasp the spirit of the present public mood. Tate Modern was the first must-see sight which was on our schedule. A couple of hours are nothing to cover the whole exhibition. I found it better to explore one floor per day. Otherwise, it is possible to spend in the gallery the whole day – there are all conditions for that, including the relaxed atmosphere. We had a lesson to cover two floors and chose a picture for copy drawing. We drew them in our sketchbook in colored pencils. I chose a simple one for copying, one which I would like to paint – a canvas of John Miro. Then I painted it on a huge piece of paper in class.

Another gallery to visit is The Serpentine Gallery. The fact that it is not so touristy attracted me the most. The other reason is its location. The Serpentine Gallery, shaped in the form of serpentine, is surrounded by the green landscape of Hyde Park.

London’s parks are another special topic. As for me, this city will be always associated with its parks and gardens. I got used to spending evenings wandering in Hyde Park, St. James Park, Green Park or Kensington Gardens. The most attractive is St. James Park with its ducks, flamingos and the view of Buckingham Palace. For me, this park is a place for one visit. Among all the central parks, Hyde Park is my favourite. It is such a pleasure to enjoy life sitting with a cup of hot chocolate by the Serpentine Lake after which, as you may guess, the gallery was named. London parks are the perfect places for drawing landscapes, having picnics, or just walking with someone, for being alone in such a harmonious space doesn’t make sense. All my London friends were crazy about squirrels which are everywhere in the central parks. We bought packets of nuts and were walking around and eating them. Animals have already gotten used to eating from human hands and looked with greedy eyes at every passerby.

Another sort of leisure is theatre. I knew that I must visit the world prominent Shakespeare’s Globe. A trip to Shakespeare’s Globe is a necessary experience in London. I enjoyed the classic English performance, but the thing I admired more was the medieval interior: sitting on the wooden benches, practically in the open air, seems to be unusual for a civilized person. A wooden amphitheatre, where still only the men have a right to act – that’s the ‘spice’ of Shakespeare’s Globe. My second obsession about London was visiting a West-End musical. I was urged to see the “Lion King” show. The well-known story is one of the most successful musical projects in history. Anyway, someone who doesn’t like Disney cartoons could find something else, from “The Phantom of the Opera”, which I consider to be quite depressing, to “We Will Rock You” – perhaps, the most dynamic show on the London stage.

The only little disadvantage of all European public places is the tradition to close ealy in the evening – at 17:30. You are lucky to find anything open at 7 p.m. This is another reason for spending time in a park in the evening. I lived alone and had reason to go back to an empty room early. I had two ways to spend my evenings – in the parks or in the bookshops. The bookshops are the only places working till a late hour. That’s why they are full of people in the evenings. No doubt, you may go somewhere to a pub or restaurant, and enjoy the rest of the night in a club. It is always amazing to observe people around you. I entertained myself by watching people, their manners, habits and the clothes they wear. Only at this moment did I begin to realize that I was in another civilization. The British demonstrate their own interpretation of style. The only women wearing heels whom you could meet in London’s streets are Russians. So it’s not so difficult to pick them out. British people prefer comfort to attractiveness. Obviously they stick to this theory wearing a shapeless sweater and pulling on some pair of jeans which look more like wide trousers or, contrariwise, like leggings. There is no other alternative. In general, the impression is that all of them put on at home the first thing they “discovered” in their wardrobe.

Regarding breakfasts, people are always in a hurry and they just pick up a cup of coffee to drink on their way to work. Londoners don’t have a tradition of home-cooked meals, in principle. In case someone is hungry he or she will normally take a sandwich. Food stores are full of various sandwiches, to any taste and preference. It is considered to be the main and universal meal. You’ll hardly find a person who cooks anything at home. People prefer to spend their time on other interesting and more useful things, not being in the kitchen the rest of the day. I don’t say that all the British live in this way. London, like every megapolis, practices its own life, as other towns have their own lifestyle with no “speedy” meals on the run.

Back to my classes in the University, I found them interesting. During our English classes we discussed some actual topics, every student had his own opinion, and sometimes, we had a debate. It was such a pleasure to be a part of this creative world. The most valuable was the experience in communicating with all these people who are obsessed by their profession and art itself. I realized definitely that I want to continue studying and practicing my new knowledge and, probably, dive deeper into the artistic ocean. So, on my way home, I promised myself to improve my art skills further.