Invitation to our Summer Market

Platform 22 is holding its Summer Market this Saturday the 6th of June between 10am and 2pm, and, if you are in the area we hope you will be able to pop along and pay us a visit!

This is the second seasonal market that Platform 22 has organised following on from last December's successful Christmas market. Once again there will be a wide and eclectic selection of produce and services on offer from the stallholders.

With summer in full swing there will be a variety of garden related stalls offering everything from hanging baskets to plants, herbs and garden design services. And after a hard day in the garden what could be finer that a visit to the "Therapy Tent" where visitors will be offered Swedish massage, a nail bar and stalls selling a variety of soaps and scents to relax and revive.

As always art and design have a special place at Platform 22 and several local artists will be showing work both in the gallery and outside on the stalls, additionally portraitist Deirdre Varley will be on hand to provide quick, 10 minute, caricatures; an ideal present for Fathers day on the 21st June.

If you are looking for something more sustaining there will be locally made jams and confectioneries and the Platform 22 café will be of course dispensing teas and coffees.

The market is aimed at helping and encouraging the development of a network of local businesses and is supporting the Federation of Small Businesses' "Keep Trade Local" campaign. Independent businesses play a vital role in Scotland's communities and our lives and key point of the FSB campaign is the added value attached to money spent with local businesses; every £1 spent with a local supplier being worth £1.76 to the local economy.

Looking forward to seeing you and fingers crossed for wonderful weather!!!!

Unexpected Day

We have a wonderful bright, up beat spring exhibition at the moment, with work by Lesley Cullan, Alan Steele, Shelley Tuck and all sorts my ceramics that I've been trying out. Do pop in if you are in the area, we'd love to see you!

David and I debated last Sunday if we should be open for Easter Monday ... I wasn't sure & kind of felt I wanted time away from the shop ... but decided to unofficially open as we knew that I would be in the gallery anyway!!

Monday was such a beautiful day and warm, so we left the shop door open and I tried to finish a commission for a 25th Anniversary platter ... TRIED being the word!

We were VERY busy and shop sales were fantastic, so, I guess we will be doing the same next year!! I love days like that .. the biggest problem was finding work quickly to hang on the walls, so that there wasn't a gapping hole for Tuesday! NO I'm not complaing!!!

A year gone by!

I don't know where this last year has gone to! So much is happening at the minute, but we seem to be stuck in a state of waiting to hear back from so many people in order to move forward! If that makes any sense.

We are planing a big change for Platform 22's Shop ~ demolish and rebuilding a space where everything has its own spot, and not everything in one room (almost). Got to find the money!!!!!

I have had fun the early months of this year experimenting and playing with some ideas, which seem to be rather popular ~ dare I say it! But a little fine tuning over time and I'll be very happy with the work.

Do check out the Platform 22 new look website, and if you would like to be sent the newsletter we have just started this year ~ do sign up! Nearly forgot to mention the ON LINE SHOP!!! There are some lovely pieces on there, so do take a peek and hopefully be tempted!!!

I have also put together a web page for myself, if you like a look ... its still in the making, but progressing nicely I think! Check it out at http://www.spanglefish.com/EmmaPattullo/

I will try very hard now to keep this blog up to date and post images as new work and ranges are established. I will no doubt waffle to much and have some disasters along the way, which will hopefully make for good reading!!!

That's it for now and I'll blog soon.

That Sinking Feeling!

Today certainly started with a rude awakening!! VERY unlucky and its all down hill from there.

My youngest woke at 5am this morning having had a nightmare and as I stumbled back into bed still half asleep (having calmed the imagination and tears) ... I heard the sound of rain against our bedroom window ... usually I think how pleased I am to be in bed and warm and pull the covers up high ... but then ...

OH NO! ITS RAINING!

And like a bolt of lightening I remembered that I had left all my work out side to dry ... (it was a beautiful day on Sunday) ... AND it was still sitting at the bottom of the garden on the bench...

!!GULP & GASP!!

Launching myself like a torpedo out of my warm bed I shot out the back door (barefoot) down the path ... to ... find ... a terrible scene of sloppy dripping wet clay! What a mess & disaster!

!!!AGHHH!!!

On top of that I have heard today by post that my ceramic pieces have not been accepted by the Aberdeen Artist Exhibition at Aberdeen Art Gallery. I know its hard to get into, but it would have been nice to have something good happen to me after my disaster.

Oh well there is always tomorrow... as well as this afternoon! I must not get dragged down ~ I don't have time anyway. Will post some images after I have painted my butterflies for the Creative Cairngorms Exhibition which opens this Saturday 3rd May!

Emma Pattullo is on a roll ... & so is Platform 22!

Wow! I have just been so busy lately. I forget every year round about March April & May that it is mayhem on the art scene! I always seem to muddle through somehow. Work is going out as fast as I can make it, and I just hope it sells! In this last month and a bit I have been getting ready for six different exhibitions. Just the last two to do now.

First of the exhibitions was the Kincardine and Deeside Arts Forum Competition, this I produced 5 pieces for (3 acorn bowls, which I was secretly pleased with and 2 carved tiles with gold leaves, called Eastern Promise).
I also managed to persuade Annabel Pattullo (my sister-in-law) to submit 2 of her textile pieces in, as well as 2 of my pottery evening students to submit their work. I had to laugh ... but Annabel and Emma (not me!) both won prizes ... one from NEOS and the other from the Gallery owner for the best 3D piece! I'm chuffed to bits for them, but laughing as I sob into a soggy handkerchief (I should have been an actor not ceramicist ... as I lay this on thick ... still would not win the Golden Grammy thing) ... as none of them would have done it without me!

The second exhibition is for the Aberdeen Artists Exhibition at Aberdeen Art Gallery. This is done by selection, and it rather hard to get into .... I'm still waiting to hear if I got in this year. I keep telling myself "no news is good news" so I must be in!!! I put in two sculptural pieces inspired by my daughter & her love of flowing material and daydreaming! Keep you fingers crossed for me.

I have also submitted work and sent it off down to Stirling as part of the Scottish Potters Annual Exhibition. I promised myself that I would really try to send my work further afield this year ... so this seemed like an opportunity I could not miss out on. I have sent down my 4 Black Gold sculptural vessels, they are going to be exhibited in a red room, which I felt would really make them feel even more rich and luxurious. It starts on the 3rd of May and I'll post a link for you tomorrow.

I as I told you in my last blog am taking part in the Macmillan Charity Art Exhibition at Satrospher in Aberdeen. I am exhibiting my butterfly platters for this (of which I have so far sold 2 pieces), I also spent all of yesterday (Saturday) teaching my pottery workshop and in the afternoon demonstrated my skills at hand building pottery acorns... you could easily say I've gone completely nuts ... and I'll be doing it all over again next Saturday.

The next two exhibitions are part of the touring exhibition for Creative Cairngorms. The first is to be held at Ballater for a week (3rd to 11th May) and then the Creative Caingorms Exhibition will come here to Platform 22 from Tuesday 13th May to the end of June. On top of that David and I decided that it was time to make a few risks and take Platform 22 Gallery onto another level ~ so we have invested in an amazing coffee machine to change our little cafe in to a coffee house. This we are hoping will really complement our little gallery and Platform 22 will become a great place to enjoy art whilst having a fabulous cup of something tasty and maybe even decide you cannot leave without one (or more) of the artworks!!!

Sorry I have really jabbered on ... and no pictures! I'll try an sort something for you in the morning. Do pop into see the Macmillan Exhibition if you can, or, come see us at Platform 22 and introduce yourself!