What's On

We are delighted to welcome Edinburgh artist Carolyn Barrett to the Garden with “Lands”, her exciting exhibition of new works.

> Closing drinks on Saturday June 13 from 4pm. All welcome.

A painting and photography exhibition with four artists.

Damian Callan is a figurative painter based in Edinburgh. His subject is the moving figure, drawn and painted in strong tonal contrasts. 

He runs drawing and painting classes for adults and art classes for children from his studio at Silvan House, opposite Edinburgh Zoo. He is the author of two books, Paint Like Degas and Paint Like Renoir, and his work has been widely exhibited across the UK. 

Eiko Yamashita is a printmaker and painter based in Edinburgh. She graduated with MA Fine Art from Wimbledon College of Arts in 2002 and moved to Scotland the following year. She is a member of Edinburgh Printmakers and Society of Scottish Artists.

Her recent works are about nature and nature worship, inspired by Hokusai and other 18-19th century Japanese artists who depicted hills, lakes and woods as objects of worship. These ideas are from Japanese Shinto, animism which deeply influenced Japanese culture and philosophy. Another theme is gravity. She has been creating prints and paintings of the human body in air and water, symbolizing the conflicted feelings of restraint & stability, freedom & uncertainty, anxiety & healing.

Komachi Goto’s artistic work focuses mainly on painting and drawing subjects that capture her curiosity. She often explores the hidden stories, histories, and emotional backgrounds behind the people or scenes she depicts. Her art reflects a strong interest in narrative and the unseen context surrounding everyday life.

Patrick Poon takes a daily walk with his camera in Edinburgh’s green spaces, coastline and beyond. He is sometimes lucky enough to find the extraordinary in the everyday. Patrick delights in collecting and sharing these serendipitous images, hoping they convey the quiet wonder felt when he captured them.

The lloyed Collective comes to the Garden for the first time, bringing ‘Tonic’ - an exhibition exploring the healing art of craft and making. You’re invited to join jewellers Andrea McCarthy, Sasanqua Link and Lyndsay Fairley alongside friends for a restorative exhibition of applied arts.

Visitors are welcome to explore the objects on show, meet the makers and consider how crafted objects can ground us in the present, encouraging contemplation and connection. Come for the work; stay for the setting. Leave with a renewed sense of what careful attention can mend.

> Join us for a convivial Opening Night on Thursday 2 July (5pm to 8pm), offering a first glimpse into the long light of summer. Come early for refreshments and stay to explore the Garden.

Join this botanical embroidery class in the Garden and discover the soothing power of sewing in the sunshine. While embroidery is already a wonderfully relaxing craft, taking your needles and thread outdoors in this tranquil garden setting brings a whole new level of bliss to your creative practice.

During the workshop, you will:

• Master colour blending – Learn how to use long and short stitch to create depth and realism and how to use satin stitch.

• Paint with thread – Bring botanical details to life with vibrant textures.

• Explore the Garden – Soak up your surroundings.

• Connect with others – Enjoy a small, intimate group setting.

Everything you need will be set up and waiting for you, so just show up and switch off. You'll finish the session feeling refreshed and inspired, taking with you a beautiful handmade keepsake and the skills to continue your next creative obsession at home.

> Spaces limited - book your place here:

https://www.edinburghsewingclasses.uk/copy-of-botanical-embroidery

Local artists Lorna Balmer and Evie Jamieson make a welcome return to the Garden with their new exhibition of inspirational and highly evocative paintings.

> Preview on Saturday 11th, 11am to 4pm, all welcome.

In this exhibition, the work of three local artists - two painters and one ceramicist - engages the viewer with echoes of nature and the senses.

Pat Paige is an Edinburgh based artist. She finds inspiration when working outside in nature and is concerned with expressing a particular moment and place with its associated feelings and memories. Her current work explores the colour, rhythms and patterns of fallen blossom in Starbank Park at Newhaven. Quick colour sketches outdoors are developed into oil paintings in her studio to produce more abstract responses to the subject.

Fiona Morris’ work has emerged from her fascination with the intricate and flowing organic forms in found objects from the seashore and the Borders countryside around her: shells, seaweed, leaves and seed heads. Beginning with close observation drawings, she uses hand building techniques - pinching, coiling and slabbing - and a variety of clays to create decorative and/or functional pieces in 3D and relief. Colour is added with washes of underglaze, with transparent gloss to emphasise the forms and textures she’s particularly interested in.

Kate Gray’s current body of work is a visceral and immediate response to a variety of pieces of music. The ‘flow’ state, where the painting ‘takes over’, means that the use of colour and form are unplanned, leaving each piece open to individual interpretation.

> There will be an opportunity to meet all three artists on Saturday 25th July, from 2pm to 4pm. All welcome!