3D, week 12

At the V&A, drawing whatever took our fancy, perhaps with an eye toward the "monument project" -- either sketches or details, keeping in mind what we've learned about gesture, mark, tone, and context.

My first stop was the Hats exhibition. It was crowded with schoolgirls, all busily drawing - and what delightful things to draw - some of them rather sinister, others witty: a grass-green circle criss-crossed by white leather strips, with a sphere at the free end of the longest one, title "Centre Court". And the London Underground symbol with a multicoloured strap signifying the tube lines on the map.

So much to look at, including vintage newsreel clips with their archly whimsical commentary: "the latest whim of Dame Fashion", and even more grating apercus along the lines of "madame must be indulged in her little whims". But back to the plus points: best for me was the replica hatter's shop in the middle. The exhibition runs till 31 May; tickets are £5.
Later, the ironwork galleries, one of my favourite parts of the museum. On the left, an elevator grille by Louis Henry Sullivan, 1893-4, New York (a rather "atomic" design, like some of the Festival of Britain patterns?); on the right, a 17th century window grille, Germany.

Here's that 1890s grille as it "really" is -

At lunchtime, sitting in the sun in the courtyard, with the splashing of fountains, and a visit to the new bookshop, which has stylish chairs for sitting and browsing (I had a long look at a new book on "Maison de Verre" in Paris, a 1920s building that still looks ultramodern).

And at the very end of the day, a visit to the new theatre & performance galleries. The corridor nearby is lined with some contemporary drawings, including this one by Charlotte Hodes, who draws with a scalpel - she was artist-in-residence at the Wallace Collection a couple of years ago -