Trip to London & first annotation

Just a week after receiving my pack, I was going to London for a day trip so I quickly looked at the first couple of units to see if I could tie anything into the trip.

The annotation suggestions for units 2 & 3 were pieces at the British Museum and I thought these would be easy to slot into the day. Unit 2 asks to annotate suggests 'The Elgin Marbles' and Unit 3 suggests 'Antonia'.

I knew a little about the Elgin Marbles beforehand and found these quite easily at the museum. I had not realised however, just how much there was to see in the room. I did a steady walk around the room first to try and take in all the various pieces and the information before choosing a piece to annotate and this alone took almost an hour.

I set myself 10 minutes to sketch the piece and another 10 minutes to annotate and make notes, as well as taking a few photos.

Overall I am pleased with my first annotation, especially as figures and animals are normally subjects I would avoid sketching.

Looking back on the page later, my quick notes in pencil aren't very clear and having forgotten to take a pencil sharpener with me, the last bits with a blunt pencil and very poor to read. My annotation sketch took up more of the page than is recommended in the handbooks and limited the space left for making notes and comments. Next time I think I will draw a faint frame/box to draw inside.
My mark making at the time seemed to be confident but looking back it looks a bit faint, possibly because it was not my preferred subject.
The notes I have made in the bottom third of the page are quite vague and in future I could add to these with additional research if the museum/gallery does not have any further information.

Knowing that time was getting on and I had planned to meet up for lunch, I quickly left to find the second piece.

I thought that 'Antonia' was a Greek Sculpture (it's actually Roman!) and headed towards the Greek rooms of which there are about 5. As I didn't know what I was looking for, I asked for assistance and was directed to one of the rooms but I still had to look at everything in the room and read each label. After about 30 minutes of looking I still had not found it and had to admit defeat and leave.

I know that including this visit into my trip was last minute and hastily planned but I could not help feeling annoyed with myself for not even finding an image of the pieces before so I at least knew what to look for.

I have definitely learnt a lot from even this quick trip that I will use and put into practice for next time:

- Briefly research the pieces beforehand, find images, background/artist information.
- Find out where in the gallery the item is, which room number.
- Find out full gallery address, opening times, exhibition dates, any restrictions. Check maps for nearest train/tube station.
- Ensure I have taken enough materials, including a pencil sharpener

Although I was not pleased with my efforts at the time, I can see now how I have learnt from it and what I could do in the future to make trips and visits more beneficial.