Reina Edmiston Art

A bit late this year in my annual sober post - this is off to Project Pink Fundraising Ball at the Kingsmills Hotel, Inverness - raising money for breast cancer research - oil on aluminium x

Hello 🙂

I’m nae on here very often so dinny ken if folks will see this - but keeps my head right nae being on the social media much. But aye, hope the below work shows how my work’s evolving and hope folk are keeping well x oh I moved house and job

Sorry if folk have msged me and nae had a response, that’s incredibly rude of me - just not on social media as find it a bit too addictive for my wee head but my friend at Cheeky Highlander had tagged me in something so thought I I’d better pop on to say I’m grand, living quietly and still painting x

Scottish Parliament Exhibition

This week, in partnership with Inverness Women's Aid and sponsored by Emma Roddick MSP I exhibited my ongoing series “Is Your Name Here?” Info on the work is on one of the photos.

The cost of living crisis is having and will continue to have a devastating impact on victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault. Money saved up to escape is being wiped out by rising bills.

I spoke with MSPs across each party and asked them to consider victims when looking at funding and emergency bills to combat the crisis. Almost every MSP stopped to look, listen and discuss.

The paintings now reside in the parliament offices of Emma, who has very kindly made a donation to Inverness Women’s Aid for them.

I was told I was affy brave for doing this but the real heros of this are Emma Rodrick, the team at Inverness Womens Aid and my sister who’s gone above and beyond what any sister would do.

Grateful to Nicola Sturgeon for taking time out of a very hectic week to come and listen and support.

We each have a voice. We can affect change.

Grateful today. If you’re struggling reach out to Mikeysline x

Happy Monday x

For G x

When I first got sober I’d come down to Inverness Museum and Art Gallery. I’d stare at Turner’s tiny watercolour and think it was magic. I took G down. It was a free activity that filled our time together.

Nearly 4 years later, I was asked to contribute to the museum’s exhibition Health, Wealth and Happiness. It explores a history of healthcare in H&Is and is incredible. My piece was about seeking isolation when we were all isolated. About continuing recovery in strange times.

To take G down, to show her my work 20 paces from Turner’s (yes I counted), is something I never thought possible.

The exhibition runs til 18th June. With my sincerest thanks to the wonderful soul at The museum for asking me to contribute.

If you are struggling today, please reach out to Mikeysline 07786 20 77 55. Life can and will change for the better x

Happy Easter x

"April"

Named after The Lumineers song that I was listening to while painting.

Grateful to say I'm holding an exhibition at Scottish Parliament in October this in partnership with Inverness Women's Aid to highlight domestic abuse and sexual assault and the work Inverness Women's Aid do.

The exhibition is on the work I did last year "Is Your Name Here?"

"Like many women, I've experienced sexual assault, domestic abuse. Like many women, I’ve experienced these things more than once. Some perpetrators have been prosecuted. Some not. Abuse and the legal system around it, makes you feel powerless. The line between “she said / he did” is a black haze of doubt. The latest incident I experienced was earlier this year. I tore up a lot of work. I felt unable, unwilling, to create the happier pieces I had been painting. Art allows me to have power over my chosen medium. It allows me to express what I cannot verbalise. This piece is how I feel about those men. Of that system. The light section is now, it’s the wee moments of normality, of peace in my head. It’s things changing and the millions of women saying “we’re not taking this anymore”. There’s abstract coastline in there. It’s a place I feel safe. Relief. The dark section? I’ve scrawled my perpetrators’ names and painted over them again and again. Buried in black. Will they ever see this work and think “F*** – is my name there?” It’s not nice to feel powerless, is it?"

"You'll Find Me Here"

With everything in the world how it is just now, I hope this brings you a small bit of calm for a Monday.

Hello, if you're reading this thank you. A million times thank you. A total of £2,253.00 has been sent to Bright Kids Charity . They continue to work whilst in shelters in Kyiv.

2 weeks ago this charity was funding specialist equipment such as orthopaedic beds for children with disabilities. They were supporting the parents of these children to undertake vocational training, with the aim that these parents could become self employed and start earning an income to care for their children. They were upgrading orphanages. All that has changed.

Now, they're using the money you raised to get emergency food to these same children, young people and families trapped in a war zone.

You can donate to Bright Kids Charity anytime via: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/ukraine-tensions-no-child-forgotten/

AS A THANK YOU

You didn't need to put your hand in your pocket but you did so if your name isn't at the bottom of this post, as a "Thank You", please come and collect one of my digital art prints (unframed) from either my house or studio (above the good folk at Dows Inverness) just give me a bell first to make sure I'm in.

If you're on a low income or had donated elsewhere come and collect one anyway. We could all do with something to brighten us up just now.

AND CONGRATS TO....

A random number generator selected no. 2015 on my spreadsheet so congrats to a Catriona Stewart, I hope this piece will bring you some calm 💙💛

UKRAINE RAFFLE APPEAL - OPEN TIL 6PM MONDAY 7TH MARCH💙💛

Thanks to each and every one of you £1,400 has now been sent and received by Bright Kids Charity, a grassroots charity providing essential support to orphanages, disabled children and their parents in Ukraine. In the current circumstances it is incredibly difficult for these children and their families to flee.

There's still time to buy tickets to win the below painting "Seek Calm" 1m x 50cm (a frame may even be thrown in!) - closing at 6pm on Monday March 7th.

To buy tickets (£1 each, no limit) please PayPal [email protected] for the number of tickets you'd like or DM for bank details.

Funds are then being transferred to the charity directly. To follow where you donations are being spent and the work the charity ordinarily do, please check out Bright Kids Charity on instagram. At the moment families are able to purchase essential food and hygiene products with the money you've raised.

Extremely grateful to The Inverness Courier for highlighting the work Bright Kids are doing and the plight of disabled people in a warzone. Full story in today's Courier.

From the charity founder: "this support means so much! I am (and especially my colleagues from Kyiv) are still in shock. We are doing the best we can to help as many families."

Global giving: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/ukraine-tensions-no-child-forgotten/

Image copyright The Inverness Courier.

UKRAINE APPEAL RAFFLE

£1 an entry

PayPal [email protected]
Or DM for bank details

Raffling off this piece, "Seek Calm" (measures 1m x 50cm) to raise funds for Bright Kids Charity a Ukraine based grassroots organisation that helps children with disabilities and additional & complex needs.

At this point as children with disabilities and their families find it difficult to impossible to flee, the charity is providing aide packages to these families. Ordinarily they provide equipment to adapt homes for children, medical care and support packages.

As always will post screen shot of total donation made. Thoughts with everyone affected 💙💛

Closes Monday 7th March (orginally said 6th as I thought Monday was the 6th, need my head screwed on)

Hello! Here's a painting! (Facebook keeps saying I haven't posted in a while) I hope you're good whoever is reading this x

I'm quietly working away on bits but if you're looking for Christmas presents, have a check on www.isle20.com Isle20 - Go island shopping

All the products are from businesses based on the Scottish Islands, I'm obvs nae on it as based in Inverness but many an artist, maker and producer of good things there

Having a sort through my studio what not and have one big box canvas piece currently available from a series I did earlier this year. It's 1x1m / 40 x 40" so needs a big wall!

Hope everyone is grand x

"Look for the Light 2021"

Inspired by the many very very gratefully received comments and messages of late. They are all very much appreciated x

A wee post to say I'm still here, mental health hasn't been v good over the past while so not sure if this will still show up in your feed but hi if it does.

I have a couple of pieces available for Xmas, other than that taking a bit of a step back from social media, I hope you're well if you're reading this x

What's Your View?
The Gathering Place, Inverness

I firmly believe that art at its very core should be accessible to all, regardless of socio-economic background, race, creed, if you are a person with a disability.

Myself and the assistant went down to the Gathering Place today. The view from my height saw down the river, to the town and up to the trees of the islands. The views at a wheelchair user's height were of a ballistrade. The width at its narrowest point means that a wheelchair is having to reverse to let people past (seen here in pupper sausage dog length). A joy of this project is to look down on the water below. Which is an option available to me. Not to all.

A loved one once referred to themselves as a burden when it came to getting about. No. It's that projects like this fail to be inclusive to all.

Probably getting myself banned from ever getting a public art project. If this is what's deemed acceptable then that's fine.

So my work went missing en rout to . Maybe delivered to the wrong place, maybe something else. Who knows. It may still turn up, you never know!

This work was due to go into their winter exhibitiom but there is some fantastic work available from other artists such as and to name a few. I can't stress enough how supportive the gallery have been - well worth a visit if you're in Dunbar.

Also a huge thank you to the world of social media for trying to track them down. I shall now drown my sorrows in autumnal cinnamon tea.

Recent Work - Is Your Name Here? #2
I'm a recovered addict who, like many women, has experienced sexual assault, domestic abuse. Like many women, I’ve experienced these things more than once. Some perpetrators have been prosecuted. Some not. Abuse and the legal system around it, makes you feel powerless. The line between “she said / he did” is a black haze of doubt.

The latest incident I experienced was earlier this year. I tore up a lot of work. I felt unable, unwilling, to create the happier pieces I had been painting. Art allows me to have power over my chosen medium. It allows me to express what I cannot verbalise.

I finally got back to painting This series is how I feel about those men. Of that system.

The light section is now, it's the hope for change. It has the names of 20 women murdered by men in the UK from March 2020 until now written down. Each, their own light sadly now extinguished.

Vanita Nowell
Tracey Kidd
Nelly Mustafa
Zahida Bi
Josephine Kaye
Shadika Mohsin Patel
Maureen Kidd
Wendy Morse
Nageeba Alariqy
Elsie Smith
Kelly Stewart
Gwendoline Bound
Ruth Williams
Victoria Woodhall
Kelly Fitzgibbons
Caroline Walker
Katie Walker
Zobaidah Salangy
Betty Dobbin
Sonia Calvi

The dark section? I've scrawled my perpetrators’ names and painted over them again and again. Buried in black. Will they ever see this work, panic and think "is my name there?” It’s not nice to feel powerless, is it?

LOOOOOOK! 🤩🤩

My very talented friend Pet Portraits for Munlochy Animal Aid is doing pet portraits with a donation going to Munlochy Animal Aid for each one sold.

This is my assistant Berta and she's perfect - from £18 - get in quick before she's all booked up for Christmas, a grand gift for yourself, friends or family

Print heading to Suzie De-vry (hope I spelled that right!) many thanks to all who wrote.

On a side note currently undergoing assessment for adhd so if I am v dottled at getting back to you l, I really really don't mean to be - spreadsheet organised for commissions x

In my own work I'm doing pieces like the below. Whether they have commercial appeal is another matter but they're me x

Doing the wee announcement of my print tomorrow. Thank you to everyone that took the time to write. Please see below for an update from the Linda Norgrove Foundation, sadly not the news we were hoping for.

"Sadly, despite this and the brave attempts of our staff to access the airport, they were not able to be evacuated. We are continuing to support them in Kabul and are still working towards their eventual evacuation.

The two women and their immediate family, including a 9 month old baby, spent a relentless 46 hours around the airport entrance, either in a bus or a panicky crowd, with incessant gunfire and the constant real threat of a terrorist bomb.

The staff members were picked up at 5am on Friday to go to the airport and remained in the area, either on the bus or in a crowd, until early Sunday morning. At times shots were being fired to try to control the crowd, and one person in front of them was killed.

There was a problem when one of the family members was not included on the list of people being evacuated, and a subsequent evacuation attempt was abandoned due to a terrorist threat in the area.

They were agonisingly close to leaving the country but the increasingly dangerous situation around the airport and the critical deadline for evacuations acted against them.

They eventually returned safely to their home."

A wee Loch Ness Study.

Thank you to everyone for taking the time on my last post. Will keep it open for another week x

📣I NEED YOUR HELP📣

A Framed print of Luskentyre is up for grabs.

Two Afghan women staff of the charity Linda Norgrove Foundation are currently trapped in Kabul, Afghanistan. They are at the bottom of the list to be evacuated.

Born here in the Highlands & Islands, Linda Norgrove was held hostage by the Taliban and killed in a failed rescue attempt. She spent her life improving the lives of people in Afghanistan

The Linda Norgrove Foundation was set up in Linda's memory following her death in Afghanistan in 2010. The charity gets people (particularly women) an education.

🌺What you need to do to for the Luskentyre print:
please write to your MP to ask that they support the campaign to evacuate these 2 employees and comment done below. Will leave this open for 2 weeks and pick someone at random (til 9th Sept) or less if we hear of their safety.

📣"But Reina I dinny have time to write to MP " - Ive drafted a letter to send, it's at the bottom of this post, just copy and paste.

📣"But Reina I dinny ken who my MP is" - you can check here: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP
If you're in Inverness like me: [email protected]

📣 "Reina you've done a crap job of explaining why I need to write to my MP" - you're right, it's explained better here:

https://lindanorgrovefoundation.org/evacuate-our-afghan-staff/

Thanks to anyone who enters. Praying for the safety of our armed forces, aid workers and Afghan people.

------------
To Whom It May concern:

I am writing with regards to the situation of two women Afghan employees of the Linda Norgrove Foundation.

The employees are in immediate danger from the Taliban by working for a UK charity that supports and empowers women. Furthermore, they are Hazara, an ethnic community targeted by the Taliban. However, they are not currently at the top of the list to be evacuated.

I urgently request that you support the Linda Norgrove Foundation's campaign to evacuate these two employees.

Yours Faithfully

Shoreline.

Thank you for the comments and messages on my last post. Things have been a bit up and down but talking certainly helps and am grateful to be surrounded by some fantastic people.

As ever, my msgs are open if you're reading this and struggling. Mikeysline are always available for support on 07786 207755