Afternoon of Artists

A great afternoon in Porty, meeting a couple of very interesting artists on a grey day. First off I went round to the Velvet Easel Gallery on the High Street where local jewellery maker, Jen Cunningham, was doing a "Meet The Artist" session. Jen makes pieces inspired by local landscapes, such as the Edinburgh Skyline, Arthur's Seat and the Crags and most recently Portobello Beach. We chatted about her work and her inspiration for a while. There was also a lot of other great works up on the walls of the gallery to have a look at.
After that I headed to the Bowling Club on Lee Crescent, perhaps an unlikely venue for a photography exhibition. There I saw some of the work done by blind photographer Rosita McKenzie and had a good chat with her about her work. The pictures on display were of Portobello - a series documenting the construction (and destruction) of the pyramids on the beach a few years ago and some images of shops on the High Street. We talked about the difference between modern shopping malls and more traditional high streets, in particular with regard to blind and partially sighted people. The modern malls are all glass and create a barrier between the shops and potential customers whereas older shops, with displays of produce spilling out onto the street and accompanying smells and opportunities to touch things are much more welcoming. So interesting to discuss it with her, and the ways that photography can be presented to blind and partially sighted people - audio descriptions, more physical representations and so on. Rosita also talked about how she felt it was important to get her work printed on canvases that were deliberately not framed behind glass so people could get closer to them.
Such an interesting afternoon!