A day out with just Oliver considering that Alexander’s arrival so far have been few and far between. With a little brother in tow and regular pre-school, it’s hard to get my now 4 year old to myself.
Weekends are all about fun family time but again that’s all of us together which is terrific but often it’s good to simply have mother and kid uninterrupted time to ourselves!
So last week I made a decision things were going to change. I missed my little man a lot more than ever considering that he’s returned to pre-school post Christmas and aware of how envious he still often feels about his brother, I knew he needed me and just me to shower some undivided attention on him.
The way he feels is normal. Master Oliver was the little prince we all revolved around before Alexander came along and adjustment hasn’t been easy for him. We’re slowly getting there and the kids do love one another (when they’re not fighting) but I knew this would helps things along.
With a newly changed work schedule allowing me much a lot more down time, I’ve taken Oliver out of pre-school one day a week so we can have mother and child alone-time.
My amazing mum cares for Alexander that day and Oliver and I are complimentary to roam the city (make that skipped which was incredibly fun) and do as we please and this week that’s exactly what we did! No work, no distractions, just my darling little kid and I skipping around Leeds together on a little adventure…
First up we headed for refreshment at the chic but child friendly Filmore & Union in the Victoria Quarter for green juice (me) and a treat of chips for Oliver before heading for a full on lunch of gourmet burgers, guacamole and coleslaw at Miller & Carter.
Come to Mama!
Oliver made a decision to show me a ‘trick’ which was drinking water with his fingers. tried not to laugh.
Then onwards to my much beloved Henry Moore Institute in the city centre of Leeds for the current Dennis Oppenheim exhibition.
With ever-changing exhibitions, this place was actually my spiritual home when I studied Art as one of my A’levels lots of moons ago. I think they might still have an essay of mine in their library tucked away at the back from that time (might have to hunt it out next time I visit) and it really is a wonderfully tranquil space, complimentary and open to all.
Not set up purposefully for kids, this matters not. children are welcome with open arms and sculptures I feel in particular, genuinely seem to resonate with kids, they feel tangible and being life-size or large, never cease to stimulate and fascinate children and adults alike.
Seeing Oliver navigate his way around this ‘Vibrating forest (From the Fireworks Series), 1982’ (please see credit scores below)* was delightful. He made a decision it resembled a ship and told me to make sure the fireworks at the rear were secure. yes sir!
Art is about losing yourself and your imagination in the moment be it a metaphorical mirror held up to reality or a fantastical piece to transport you through time and/or place and space-it’s a joy, an escape, a touching emotional truth… and there is nothing a lot more complimentary nor lucid as the mind of a child.
You’re not normally allowed to take pictures but the charming pr there, Rebecca recognised me from this blog (fame at last-ha!) and approved. Yay!
As we left, we taken a look at (get it?) this outdoor chess board which Oliver found fascinating (if a bit infuriating that he couldn’t play with the pieces as a game was already in progress). think I need to invest in one of these for the garden!
A few feet away is the Leeds Art Gallery, a creative haven for big and little people, each room bursting with agreeably, ‘Probably the best collection of twentieth century British art outside London’ (John Russell Taylor, The Times).
Also with changing collections, Oliver and I wandered between rooms taking in Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Atkinson Grimshaw, Jacob Kramer, and their contemporaries: Paula Rego, Bridget Riley, Georgina Starr, Tony Cragg, Antony Gormley and Francis Bacon. I had taken Oliver before, quite a few times but now aged 4 he seemed so much a lot more engaged than ever before…if not a little too ‘engaged’…
I tried to describe to him that we are not allowed to touch the sculptures on display but his desire to do so overpowered my appeals (sorry Leeds art gallery for any tiny fingerprints left). It was only one or two in all honesty and by the time we upped to leave, he seemed to have grasped the concept of looking and not touching. quite a lesson.
It need to be said he does take after his grandma in this respect who is also an art lover and once remarked to me at the Musee D’Orsay in Paris that she simply had to touch the sculptures and if any individual reprimanded her, she would respond she is blind. Right, then!
…Back to the Leeds City Art Gallery, the Pièce_de_résistance there has to be the children’s area (above) that had delicatetissue paper sculptures hanging from the ceiling (above), carboard box arrangements for imaginative play on the floor, professional watercolour sets and brushes along with a lot more tissue paper, card and rods to create flowers and a textile experimental tapestry to trial colours and textures.
It was heavenly for us both! My first love is painting and one I nearly studied at Uni (with a place used at Ruskin, Oxford Uni but I selected film at Goldsmiths, Uni of Lon) so there we sat, my kid and I for what seemed like minutes but was at least an hour or more, painting, making flowers, questioning, playing, laughing. Joyful.
It served as a tip that I need to get back to the easel myself. I’ve exhibited my work before but considering that kids haven’t even sketched but I’m figured out to start again…Below is a watercolour I rustled up in a few minutes. A token I took home of the day.
My quick little watercolour created with Oliver
A cup of earl grey and some sparkling water at the captivating art deco cafe there energised us before a quick visit to the City library next door. I read a story to Oliver and we chose a handful of books to take out featuring dinosaurs and the alphabet (which Oliver was allowed to stamp himself much to his delight) before returning (sleepily) home for dinner with Alexander…passing this sign as a timely tip as we went…
It might just have been one of our a lot of best days together. If it were a film it would be a slow moving, European indie filled with love about a mother and kid enjoying one another’s company and the basic pleasures in life.
This week’s outing was all about beautiful views and splashing in muddy puddles but that’s a whole other blog post!
*Steel, copper, casters, perforated angle, aluminum track, glass rods, cast plaster, quartz lamp, cotton candy machine, class C rockets, fountains, vibrating motor. Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, California.
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