CAVE CREEK – Arizona’s largest and longest-running artist studio tour and sale, Hidden in the Hills (HITH), celebrates its 20th year during the last two weekends of November, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 18,19, 20 and November 25, 26, and 27, 2016. A signature event of the non-profit Sonoran Arts League, Hidden in the Hills features 188 artists in 47 studio locations throughout the scenic Desert Foothills communities of Cave Creek, Carefree and North Scottsdale.
The free, self-guided studio tour offers seasoned collectors and art enthusiasts a rare chance to observe artists at work in their private studios, which are open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the six-day tour. Each studio has one or more guest artists who also display and sell their work. All HITH artists are Sonoran Arts League members, and several will be coming from different parts of the state to participate in the annual event. Many guest artists also set up to demonstrate.
One of the tour’s artists is ceramist Christopher Heede, who has participated as a studio host for 19 years. His Studio #32 in Scottsdale is a popular stop on the tour, not only for his contemporary Raku vessels, decorative wall sculptures, ceramic pots and other stoneware, but because of his studio’s unique architectural elements and lush landscaping featuring more than 1,500 plants.
Heede’s passion for art dates back to his early childhood. When he was eight years old, his family moved to Greece for two years, which had a big influence on him.
His parents were also influential. “My mother was a folk artist and my father could build anything. We always had a wood shop.”
“My nickname in high school was Dr. Mud because I was always covered in clay,” he said, laughing. “Now I teach students once a week at a local elementary school and they also call me Dr. Mud.”
Recently, he began experimenting with new glazes and colors. “Some of my newer pieces have melted glass over the top of the clay,” he said. “The glass melts at a lower temperature, so it starts to flow and pick up colors. The blue hues in the glass have a lot of depth to them and add a nice turquoise blue shine.”
Heede also works with clients and custom builders producing unique and dramatic architectural pieces such as bathroom sinks, kitchen countertops, ceramic columns, floor tiles, and sandblasted and painted mirrors.
For more information, call 480-575-6624, or visit www.HiddenInTheHills.org.
