Not a real owl!  I photographed this owlmorphic clump of cobwebs and autumn leaves in a tree hollow on Cape Cod in 2007.

The Camelback Studio Tour in the Sherwood Heights neighborhood of southern Scottsdale is over until the next one (that’s March 9, 10, 11, 2012, by the way, so mark your calendars now), and I’m tired but happy.  Thanks to all who came by to visit, shop, or both.  The sale seemed to occupy the last hot days of summer — I can’t recall ever getting a sunburn at an art sale before — and now desert autumn has set in, with sudden refreshing showers, cooler temps, and pranking breezes.

<< content horned owl (detail; A.Shock 2011)

My next event is in less than three weeks: the Audubon Arizona Gifts from Nature benefit art event, Saturday and Sunday the 12th and 13th of November.  More about that soon, when I have more details.  Hope to see you there and, the forces of clay willing, Three Star Owl will have some new work for you to take a look at.  Meanwhile, Happy Diwali!

This is the little white booth in the desert.  It’s Three Star Owl‘s show tent, currently set up in the backyard for the Camelback Studio Tour and housing an ever-decreasing number of objects.  It’s great fun to have people drop in and peruse the selection, marvel at E‘s epic number of specimen cactus and succulents, and maybe go home with a rαt-dog or a beastie mug.  And it’s fun to talk to folks, too, friends and strangers alike.  During the last couple of days, I’ve referred people to Mike Cone for cool cactus pots (mysteriously, I don’t have any for sale, currently), recommended the book “Desert Gardening for Beginners” from Native Seed Search, and talked to a man who used to work for the Pomona Tile Company in LA and who said he’d lost track of how many times he’d had lead poisoning — “you wait for the symptoms to go away and drink lots of milk” !!  (Just FYI, most contemporary potters, and certainly anyone making functional ware, don’t use lead in their glazes anymore, but lead compounds make beautiful colors.  They were used in ceramic glazes worldwide for thousands of years, and in the U.S. until the 1970s.)

Lots of pieces have found new homes, but there are still great items left.

<< Here’s one “Neither Fish Nor Fowl Tentacle Bottle”.

Also, this, a frog skeleton beastie creamer, about 4″ tall  >>

You can drop by Sunday, 10 – 5. Admission is free.  The open studios are artists’ homes in the Sherwood Heights subdivision of southern Scottsdale, between 56th Street and 60th, and Thomas and Oak.  More info here.

Also, we’ve got a 5.5 lb container of Red Vine licorice that needs desperately to be shared!

Next Friday Saturday and Sunday Oct 21, 22, 23,  is the Camelback Studio Tour, and Three Star Owl will have wares available for you to peruse and perhaps purchase. Other artists’ studios nearby in the neighborhood will be open as well, with more than 20 artists offering their art for pre-holiday shopping. Support local artists and artisans and stop by: 10-5, free to enter all the studios.  Click here for details.

<< sneak peak of a piece that’s about to fly across the country

During the event, a new piece called “Ossuary, An Archæology of Resurrection (<< detail left) will be lurking in the corner, awaiting shipping to St.Louis for an upcoming show, “Death and Rebirth” at Maryville University, curated by James Ibur.  St. Louis artists Ruth Reese, Ron Fondaw, Eric Hoefer, Lili Bruer, Renee Deall, Tim Eberhardt, Mary Ann Swaine, Matt Wilt, Susan Bostwick, Jimmy Liu as well as national artists Amanda Jaffe, Chris Berti, Russell Wrankle, Kurt Weiser, Adrian Arleo, Arthur Gonzalez, Ben Ahlvers, Mark Messenger, Pete Halladay, Paula Smith, and Allison Shock will have work displayed from Nov 2, 2011  through  Friday, Dec 2, 2011.

A couple of Three Star Owl events you should know about are coming right up — these are your only two chances for pre-holiday shopping for Beastieware, Wazzoware and the like.  Both are Phoenix-area events:

The first is the Camelback Studio Tour, Fri Sat and Sun October 21 22 23, from 10am to 5pm.  My yard and tiny, cluttered studio space will be open to all, along with several other artists’ home studios in our neighborhood, pretty much within walking distance.  The work of 17 artists in a wide variety of media will be on display and for sale.  Details here, just click on the brochure or map links on the page for specifics.  As usual, come early for best selection!  Parking is a breeze, and the event is free.

In November, Audubon Arizona has revived its Gifts from Nature art/fundraiser, and I’m very excited that Three Star Owl has been invited to be part of this juried event, which features the nature-related work of Arizona artists in many media.  This year it will be on Saturday and Sunday, November 12 and 13 at the Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center, 3131 South Central Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona.  Keep an eye on this spot for more details.  A percent of all sales go to benefit Audubon Arizona.

Hope to see you there!

Yes, I realize that this is a very easy Spot the Bird.  Although it was hiding among the lower branches of a mesquite, the bird is very easy to spot, here in the photo.  But, driving past, not so easy.  And it doesn’t think it’s easy to spot.  The bird, a Greater Roadrunner, thinks it is well hidden, lurking like light leaking through leaves, looking for lizards.

<< Greater Roadrunner (photo A.Shock)

I spotted this bird in our neighborhood, where it’s been around recently, causing me to hope it’s taken up residence.  Go ahead, click to enlarge.  It’s even easier to spot.