Although the calendar says that summer does not begin until June 21, summer has already arrived in Scottsdale, Arizona. We’ve had a record number of days over 100 degrees in May. We have however, enjoyed a reprise over the last few days – some cloud cover and sprinkles here and there. What a delightful departure! One of the joys of living in Scottsdale are the amazing blooms that grace our cactus this time of year. We happen to have a beautiful night bloomer in our courtyard at home. In recent mornings we have enjoyed our morning coffee while looking at this!

Beautiful Spring Blooms

Gathering Next Season's Honey

My apologies to the real photographers out there! I just couldn’t help myself. . .

We’ve been busy here since the show ended – packing everything back to the office, sorting through all of the paperwork and getting systems in place for 2010! The guys had the tedious job of trasnporting all of our stuff to the warehouse then, taking down, washing, drying, folding and storing the 40,000 square foot tent and much more. We have reivewed all of the applications from the 2009 artists and have assigned studio spaces to them for 2010. Now we will begin reviewing the applications from new artists that are arriving on a daily basis. We have a limited number of spaces available so the jury process will be tough. We always want to bring the best quality and the best mix together so we can deliver the best show ever!

We are excited and looking forward to celebrating out 20th anniversary in 2010. It is hard to believe that 20 years have passed since the big white tents first appeared on Scottsdale Road. Who knew then what magic would unfold over the years under the big white tents. As the ad campaign promised way back then, it truly is “an experience like no other” and one that would “change how you feel about buying art forever.” The connection between the art lovers and the artists who have come together over the last 20 years is stronger than ever and will continue to grow deeper in the years ahead.

We are heading out on our first trip for the summer in June. We’ll travel to northern California and the wine country. We look forward to spending some time with some of our artist friends as well as some of our incredible collectors! Look for some fun pictures in the next blog!

Until then,

Susan and Jake

P.S. We’ve ventured into the world of social media recently. Follow us on Twitter @artcelebration! It’s been fun connecting with people from around the world on this cool tool! More to come, for sure.