Colony of Artists Exhibition 1-2 September 2012

The colony houses found in several places in Edinburgh are, as most of us in the capital know, very special indeed, but down in Abbeyhill the occupants are also quite special too. This weekend the artists who live there (and we use that term very widely) are throwing open their doors to the public to allow you in to see some of their work.

The idea is to sell some of it of course, but we think you will have a great time just milling about among the lovely houses, perhaps taking tea and eating some home made cakes.

The Reporter went to visit the colonies ahead of this weekend to get a flavour of the diverse art being shown, and to talk to three of the people exhibiting there.

Bill Mazur is a plumber by trade, and is originally from Canada. Now based in Scotland, in his spare time he uses acrylics to produce landscapes. Sometimes he paints on site, but otherwise he uses his own studio space. He is wonderfully modest, and the paintings he has produced are on offer from £200 to around £400.

Here is what Bill had to say about the forthcoming show:-

Denis Mallon and Lisa Graham are artists with a difference. This is the home of the new Nick Park (and partner!) who met at Art School and now spend their free time making films.

What you will see at their house in Regent Place is an animated film called Fashionably Late. The props including the principal character Claude have been made from scratch by Lisa,  and then Denis did the animation and the technical bits. Sounds simple but the whole film has taken about six months to complete. It is suitable for the whole family and you can watch a trailer here.

[vimeo 48322054 w=500 h=281]

The Reporter talked to Denis and Lisa about how they created their magnum opus, which will premiere this weekend at the Colony of Artists, by combining their skills.

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The other houses are showing a huge variety of art including jewellery, paintings and pencil drawings, children’s artwork at Abbeyhill Primary School, photography, coffee cakes and music, sculpture and 2-D art in mixed media and Aileen Paterson the author of the wonderful Maisie books will do a book reading at 2.30 and show off some original Maisie drawings.

The show is on Saturday and Sunday from 1-5 p.m.