Optical Art in Aid of Charity
When we think of our high street opticians, we think of functional and clinical not beautiful and inspirational. Mapperley-based optician, Charles Lea has turned this preconception on its head by turning its premises into a stunning art gallery displaying works by local artists in aid of the sight loss charity, My Sight Notts.
Welcoming environment for patients
When the Optician came into new ownership in September 2021, they wanted to mark the occasion by creating a welcoming, relaxing and interesting environment for patients and staff to enjoy. After some discussion the team decided to invite local artists to display their works for free in reception areas and clinic rooms. Taking the idea a step further, they also decided to ask any local artist whose works were sold through their unique art gallery, to make a donation to local sight loss charity, My Sight Notts, which supports blind and partially sighted people across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
Staff set up a campaign on social media inviting people to display and sell their art and they were surprised by the interest the campaign generated, with patients and local artists coming forward to display paintings, drawings, photographs and even fabric art.
Local artist contributes textile art
One local artist who took up the invitation to display her art is Sarah Sewell of Wildgoose Designs. “I saw the posts on social media,” explains Sarah, “and as a local artist living and working in Mapperley, I thought what a good idea! I decided to support the project by displaying one of my pieces in the opticians. I make unique textile art using an ordinary sewing machine to create detailed and colourful images. The piece I’m displaying at Charles Lea is of a bright and beautiful Kingfisher with an orange breast and gorgeous teal tail feathers.”
Everyone benefits!
Stephanie Lipsy-Liu, Optician at Charles Lea, said: “We wanted to create a lovely environment for our patients and support artists in our local community at the same time. Asking for a donation in aid of My Sight Notts for artworks sold also seemed like a great idea as both the charity and Charles Lea work in different ways to support local people with their eye health, which makes them our perfect charity partner.”
Photo 1 shows Julie from My Sight Notts holding up a painting of a highly decorative boot, Sarah from Wildgoose Designs holding up her textile art and Steph from Charles Lea who is seated next to optometrist’s eye testing equipment holding a photo of a woodland scene
Photo 2 shows Sarah Steph and Julie each holding the same works of art but in this picture they are standing in front of other paintings in the opticians gallery
Photo 3 shows a textile art of a beautiful Kingfisher with an orange breast and gorgeous teal tail feathers created by local artist, Sarah
