Responses and an Anatomy Theatre!

janettesumnerart
Apr 6
5 min read

Thomson's Tower, Dr Neil's Garden, Duddingston, Edinburgh

After quite a dormant winter on the art front things are getting busy again, so it’s full steam ahead towards new exhibitions in some lovely unique spaces!

But first, a little about the Sensory Response course I completed last month. It took place over five weeks and was held at one of my favourite places, Paintbox Art School in Cockenzie. I felt after the dreary winter weather that I needed a boost of creativity, something where I just turned up with my painting pinny, a packed lunch and with no forward art planning at all. So, this course was ideal as it was based on letting go of preconceived ideas, and instead responding to outdoor sounds, music, dance and poetry. For our responses we used ink, charcoal and graphite on paper, and had our eyes closed which gave our mark making a free rein. Who would have thought that swinging a brush listening to DnB would be so freeing and uplifting! However, my favourite session was responding to a favourite poem, which was Robert Louis Stevenson's Summer in Bed. This exercise travelled right inside your being, and within the group there were many emotions felt: euphoria, sadness, frustration and contentment! I came away from the sessions finding exactly what I was looking for - feeling recharged, and with ideas swirling around in my head for future projects.

My project at the moment is a 60 x 60cm cradled panel which after its final varnish has just been delivered to the framer. By mid-April it will be whizzing off to an exhibition at the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club (SOC) at Waterston House in Aberlady. It’s another one of my favourite places! They have the most beautiful exhibition space - the Donald Watson Gallery which has one wall made entirely of glass. This overlooks their pond which is teaming with wildlife, beyond that a golf course, and then the sea, it’s a great place to just sit and watch!

The SOC have teamed up with Visual Arts Scotland, and so at the end of April they will be showing their Natural Collection Exhibition at Waterston House. I’m over the moon to have one of my pieces chosen, and that it will be hanging in this lovely space!

Last November, the SOC held an artist and makers research day for artists wishing to submit, and this enabled me to view their extensive archive collection. It was a fabulous day studying their old scientific data, artist's bird sketchbooks and surveys and maps. It was fascinating to learn how their bird movement data was collected and catalogued in the past, for example, in the early 1900’s with bird surveys being undertaken by the lighthouse keepers across Scotland. It was enlightening to compare how bird movement surveys are now undertaken with apps and database systems, like the bird tracking device Motus(1). This Natural Collection exhibition aims to revisit how people collected in the past, either for pleasure or scientific study, and it looks to explore what contemporary collecting consists of now.

I’ve loved every minute of this project, in particular embedding unique collage pieces - an old admiralty sea chart, the beautiful bird records kept by the lighthouse keepers (copies!), and vintage seabird stamps! So, with the combination of tidelines and birds this piece is entitled Tideline Murmurs.

I always work on multiple paintings sat a time, so there are two sister pieces to Tideline Murmurs which I'm delighted to be exhibiting at The Torrance Gallery, Edinburgh. It was all change at the gallery in March, as new owners Antonio and Adam have stamped their mark on it with their first Spring Show, so i'm looking forward to seeing these two joining their exhibition very soon.

Before the SOC exhibition I have a piece heading to the Summerhall Arts Group Exhibition.

Summerhall Arts is a community based platform for artists and creative practitioners in Scotland. They're based in the Summerhall building in Edinburgh, which was built in 1925, and was the former home of The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. The 'Dick' refers to William Dick, the founder of the Veterinary School, which has always been fondly called the 'Dick Vet'. It’s a weird and wonderful building with rooms such as The Anatomy Theatre which has high, curved wooden seating and a huge sky light (for obvious reasons!).

My piece for this exhibition, Wild Kelp Beds, is more minimal than my usual work, and was inspired by watching a lone clump of kelp, in the Firth of Forth as it swayed to and fro with the current, while at the same time protecting the tiny molluscs underneath.

I'm so delighted to have these lovely opportunities to show my work, the organisation that goes into curating exhibitions is immense, so thank you so much for having me, I really appreciate it!

It's garden time at the beginning of May! I’ll be heading to Dr Neil’s Garden, Edinburgh where I’m looking forward to exhibiting with three friends. The garden is on the banks of Duddingston Loch, and was created in 1963 by two local doctors who wanted their patients to benefit from nature by tending to the gardens. Before this (1825) on the banks of the loch the octagonal Thomson’s Tower was built (in the now Dr Neil’s Garden). The Tower was built to house Duddingston Curling Society's curling stones, and in the Lower Chamber there are still some of the (very heavy!) stones used from this time. When not in use by the Curling Society, the Upper Room (where we will be exhibiting) was used by the landscape painter Rev. John Thomson (1778-1840), who was the minister of Duddingston Kirk. Here he entertained fellow artists JMW Turner and Henry Raeburn. Giving the inspiration for his painting Rev. Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch!

It’s a great space, and although looking quite small from outside, is actually is quite large. We’re really looking forward to exhibiting at this unique venue surrounded by the beautiful gardens, and we are there for a whole week! I’m picturing it now, birdsong, tea and cake in the garden, lots of lovely art chatter and sunshine, so that’s why we’ve named the exhibition Tarry a While, meaning - to linger, stay, or delay leaving a place, to savour a moment.

I’ve listed the exhibition venues below with all of the info - it would be lovely to see you if you’re out and about in Edinburgh. As you've probably gathered, I love architecture too and these are really interesting buildings to discover.

Thanks so much for reading, enjoy the spring and warmer summer months, and for those in the Southern Hemisphere - keep warm and cosy as winter arrives.

Janette

Summerhall Arts Group Show

18 April 2026 – 24 May 2026

1 Summerhall, Edinburgh, EH9 1PL

https://www.summerhallarts.co.uk

Natural Collection

29th April to 7th June 2026

Scottish Ornithologists’ Club & Visual Arts Scotland

Waterston House, Aberlady, East Lothian

https://www.the-soc.org.uk

Tarry a While

11th May to 17th May 2026