Alison Kinnaird: Open Studio Exhibition

Some people will be wondering why Alison Kinnaird, the legendary Scottish harpist and an honoured artist in glass, is not featured at the Fringe this year. She has always been a stalwart exhibitor, listed in the Fringe Programme, but this past year has seen her moving her studio and home from a converted church near Edinburgh, to new premises in Leith. She felt that due to uncertainty about the completion date of the move, she couldn’t commit to the Festival early enough to be included in the brochure. But the move is now complete, and her new Open Studio exhibition runs throughout the month of August. Alison will be resident there daily from 11-5 and she would very much welcome a visit from anybody who would like to view a range of her extraordinary work as a glass engraver.

Alison is a hugely talented artist, producing work inspired by Celtic myth, the natural world, and moving responses to world events and the human condition. A swan’s wing is so sensitively engraved that you can almost feel the soft texture of the feathers. Butterflies escape from their pins and take to the air in delicate colours, leaving a ghostly silhouette behind. A kite bearing a figure aloft, with a tail of feathers, is inspired by the poem ‘If I Must Die’, by the late Refaat Alareer and is heartbreakingly relevant to current events.

Alison’s work challenges the eye, mind and senses and must be seen and experienced. She was awarded an MBE in 1997 for her services to art and music but wears her knowledge modestly and is happy to engage visitors. And if you want a piece of glass art by one of the world’s greatest exponents, bring your cheque book. (TA/DM)

Alison Kinnaird is running an Open Studio show till end of August, daily 11-5, 34 Ferry Road, next to Leith Library.- details here