Friday, June 25, 2021

Two exhibitions! Make plans to attend!

Hello Dear Studio Blog Readers, 

I am happy to share again that I have work coming up in two exhibitions in July. It's time to get serious about the promotion of both of them. So here goes with thanks to both press releases. If you are local to Edinburgh or plan to visit, I hope you can catch one if not both of these exhibitions. 

Artwork by Abigail Osborne ‘a lot of people want you to throw this away' (2020)

granton:hub is pleased to announce that our community is now included in the 'Coastal Knowledge’ project funded by the RSE Young Academy Scotland and led by Dr Niki Vermeulen (University of Edinburgh) celebrating Scotland’s (prolonged) year of coast and waters.

As a coastal community, Granton plays a part in developing diverse forms of knowledge about the coast and experiences that people have living and working on the coast.

The Recycl-Age Art exhibition was selected as part of this Coastal Knowledge project and is included in the 2021 Edinburgh Science festival, offering artists a unique opportunity to showcase their work. Recycl-Age Art 2021 includes painters, printmakers, collage artists, ceramicists, illustrators, photographers, textile artists, jewellers, composers, poets and makers. Many artworks incorporate recycled elements, indeed several are made of 100% recycled and repurposed materials. Some artists reflect on what recycling means to them, figuratively or conceptually

With contributions from: Marta Adamowicz –  Elise Ashby – Anna Baran – Emily Brooks Millar – Sandra Brown – Megan Chapman – Erin Colquhoun – Michael Dawson – Gina Fierlafijn Reddie – Penny Forbes – Komachi Goto – David Gray – Lorna Johnson – Jessica Kirkpatrick – Victor Nobis – Valerie O’Regan – Abigail Osborne – Ludovica Perosin – Ian Reddie – Judith Shaylor – Jacqueline Thow – Mark Urban – Rosemary Walker – Bev Wright

Here is the preview video:


I am delighted to participate in this exciting exhibition. As you may recall I was very inspired by the granton hub when I showed there in the past and wrote a blog about the experience. You can read that post again here. That positive experience encouraged me to apply to become a volunteer at the hub. I have been enjoying helping behind the scenes in preparation for the Recyl-Age exhibition.

On to the next big show... 


A really exciting moment is approaching for the Abstractionistas, the new abstract collective of which I am a proud member. I really hope to see you at this exhibition.

Advancing the Abstract’ debut exhibition by Abstractionistas collective
Friday 9 July 2021 - Sunday 25 July 2021
Reception: Saturday 10 July 2021, 2-6 pm
Open daily from 12-5 pm
Gallery Two, Edinburgh Palette, St. Margaret’s House
151 London Road
Edinburgh
EH7 6AE
Book your Free Exhibition Tickets: https://bit.ly/exhibitiontickets

‘Advancing the Abstract’ is the debut exhibition from a new collective of abstract painters based in Scotland. The collective, aptly named, The Abstractionistas, is currently made up of four artists - Esther Donaldson, Megan Chapman, Judith Shaylor and Susan Wilson. These women bring a depth of experience in the arts and a firm dedication to abstract expression, each one striking a different chord with their use of colour, line, space, and drama.
The goal of the collective is to create more opportunities to share the enduring importance, power and pull of abstraction with viewers across Scotland. Please join us for this exciting inaugural exhibition.
The exhibition will be open to the public, subject to current government guidelines. Masks are required except for those who are exempt, social distancing will be in place, and hand sanitiser will be available.
Please book your free tickets on Eventbrite so that we can provide you with a safer and more enjoyable exhibition experience. There are 10 tickets available for each 30-minute time slot to allow for physical distancing.
To attend the opening reception please select ticket times between 2-6 pm on Saturday 10 July. All the artists will be available at this time and would love to see you there!

Friday, June 18, 2021

I went back to my studio








I went back to my studio on Friday only because I had a scheduled meeting that was cancelled. I only continued to my studio because I thought it was good to challenge the inertia settling into my bones. I only went to my studio to pick up some art for an upcoming exhibition - may as well. The studio is frozen in time. My birthday presents from two Marches ago still sit left where they were unwrapped along with a cup of mouldering tea and brushes left in the sink. The air was damp and too still. The tools were lonely -

waiting
waiting
waiting…

The paintings shuttered inside for over a year no light, no banter, no community. I made myself stay in the studio for an hour, trying to find a spark of creation in the windowless room. A place I have spent so many hours-
making
making
making…

The room felt hollow and collapsed. A punishment rather than a prize. A lonely place where no one knows your name and you pay for the privilege.


Friday, June 11, 2021

Exhibition update: Advancing the Abstract


Advancing the Abstract
Friday 9 July 2021 - Sunday 25 July 2021
Reception: Saturday 10 July 2021, 2-6 pm
Open daily from 12-5 pm

Gallery Two, Edinburgh Palette, St. Margaret’s House
151 London Road
Edinburgh
EH7 6AE
‘Advancing the Abstract’ is the debut exhibition from a new collective of abstract painters based in Scotland. The collective, aptly named, The Abstractionistas, is currently made up of four artists - Esther Donaldson, Megan Chapman, Judith Shaylor and Susan Wilson. These women bring a depth of experience in the arts and a firm dedication to abstract expression, each one striking a different chord with their use of colour, line, space, and drama.
The goal of the collective is to create more opportunities to share the enduring importance, power and pull of abstraction with viewers across Scotland. Please join us for this exciting inaugural exhibition.
The exhibition will be open to the public, subject to current government guidelines. Masks are required except for those who are exempt, social distancing will be in place, and hand sanitiser will be available.
Please book your free tickets on Eventbrite so that we can provide you with a safer and more enjoyable exhibition experience. There are 10 tickets available for each 30-minute time slot to allow for physical distancing.
To attend the opening reception please select ticket times between 2-6 pm on Saturday 10 July. All the artists will be available at this time and would love to see you there!

Friday, June 4, 2021

The sun was glorious

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Hello, dear art lovers and readers of the Friday Studio Blog! I hope you are all doing well. 

I am thankful for you and for the print orders that have been coming in more steadily for the past three weeks. Your orders are really keeping me going just now. I now offer twenty-one different prints in my shop ranging from £15, £25, and £40 and with free UK shipping too! They make great gifts for your friends, family, and especially for yourself!

I am getting ready to be busy as next month I will be participating and helping to organise two different exhibitions in Edinburgh (and in the real world!?). One will be at the Granton Hub and one will be at Edinburgh Palette, St. Margaret's house, both in July. Next week I will give you all the details. 

My feelings have been a bit all over the place as the summer approaches and the news of the world continues to overwhelm with both hopeful and still shite news. I am walking daily and spending time appreciating flowers, my cat, and the lovely people in my life. I am still keeping things mostly quiet and am in no rush to return to normalcy whatever that is. 

I tidied up my home studio area. I had a great art talk with a fellow painter, I worked on preparation for both exhibitions, signed and titled prints, and took them to the post office. It was a pretty good week.

The wind is blowing through the open window, there are potatoes baking in the oven for dinner. The sun was glorious this morning. I will be posting out more prints next week too. I'll end as I began with gratitude for your support. 

Don't forget, I place my orders with my fabulous printer every Monday morning at 9am. So if you are looking to get a print from my shop, get your orders in by Sunday night for quickest turn around time each week. You are supporting two women-owned small idependent art businesses with every purchase and that is a good and helpful thing. Thank you - Megan 

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