Pottery by Aboriginal Artists of Central Australia

These beautiful hand-built pottery is by the Aboriginal Arrernte people of Central Australia at Hermannsburg, west of Alice Springs on the Finke River. The Hermannsburg Potters is a unique and significant art center that is internationally known for their unique collection of lidded pots made using the traditional hand-coil technique and decorated with owls, birds, animals and landscapes in bright colors. 

"The strong history of Hermannsburg visual culture and story-telling, the Hermannsburg Potters have developed a highly original and distinctive ceramic art practice, which, through savvy marketing and innovation, has become internationally renowned". You can learn about the artists and read about the history of Hermannsburg here.

The vessels shown above:

1. Owl, MacDonnell Ranges, The Hermannsburg Potters

2. Brolga, Artist: Judith Pungkarta Inkamala

3. Cockatoo, Artist: Rona Panangka Rubuntja

4. Owl, Artist: Lindy Rontji

5. Kookaburra, Artist: Lindy Rontji

6. Pink Galashs at Imarlkna, Artist: Judith Pungarta Inkamala

7. Owl, Artist: Rahel Kngwarria Ungwanaka

Owl Babies Craft Using Pom-Pom

The "Owl Babies" is a children's book by Martin Waddell which was the inspiration for Rachel in creating this craft for her boys. It's a simple and an easy activity that kids will enjoy making on an afternoon. The best part about this craft is that you don't need too many things, just a few simple things that you'll find on your craft's shelf. 

I adore the shapes of the owls created using a pom-pom. You can make owls in all kinds of shapes and sizes, small to decorate a handmade card and multiple big ones for a wall art! To find out all the materials that you'll need for the craft and detailed instructions go here.

Watercolor Paintings by Louise De Masi

Louise De Masi is an Australian artist whose work reflects her love for nature and animals. She uses watercolors as the medium for her paintings because of " the unpredictable nature of watercolor. I love the vibrance of the hues and I thrive on the challenge that each painting brings. Sometimes I master it and at other times it masters me. " - she shares.

She has an online store where she sells prints in different sizes as well as original paintings. I have picked out the above few paintings to give you a taste of her beautiful work. You can see many more (over 500) paintings of all sorts of owls, birds and animals in her store. The owl portrait shown above is my favorite. How incredible is feather detail around his eyes!

Her artwork has been featured in many Australian art and craft magazines and currently she has some of her paintings licensed to a US wall decor manufacturing company.

Printable Notebook Pages

Teresa has a blog where she shares wonderful tutorials, free patterns and printables for all kinds of occasions. These owl themed printable is perfect to make your own notebook. The pages are available in three color shades -pink, orange and purple in two different designs. You can print them all in a single color or mix them. Download as many as you want and make a little notebook for yourself and for a friend who likes to take notes!

There many more notebook designs on her blog that you can take a look at and download if you like. She has shared tips on how can you assemble the pages in a notebook. There are even a few tutorials on how to make a notebook cover for your notebook, check out this link.

Earl Martz: Wood Carving Illustrated

Earl Martz has been a professional artist for more than 30 years. He started his career in 1970 as a mural painter with United States Army and still is fascinated by painting wildlife which is the primary subject matter of his work.

He has studied taxidermy, engraving, scrimshaw, and sculpting, and is an avid student of nature where he likes to spend most of his time. He creates stunning sculptures combining painting and carving on found wood in abstract shapes.

Artist's statement: "It occurred to me that nature and animal could become one in sculpture- the gentle twist of strong wood matching the subtle curves of a wild animal. In searching out only the best pieces to begin working with, I'll immediately go for pleasing lines and only select something with a heightened visual appeal, but some of these pieces will sit for a couple of years or more before becoming something that I will use to bring out a particular animal. Over a period of 15 years now, I've found outstanding pieces of wood from Maine to Montana... even down in the bayous of Louisiana. It can be hard to describe the process of making each one into a particularly original work of art, because that choice of matching the wood to a certain form doesn't happen everyday, but when it finally does come about, you know you've got the best shape for what the wood is going to become."

Each one-of-a-kind piece is full of intricate carvings and precise paint strokes. It's a work of a genius carving the feathers and fur on those animals making them look so real. To view more of his work and detailed close-ups watch the video below.