3RBC Membership Meeting
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Renowned sculptor Larry Barth Will Be Our Speaker

Renowned sculptor Larry Barth, whose artistry in wood depicts birds carved with almost unbelievable feather-by-feather detail, will be the speaker at the Three Rivers Birding Club meeting on Wednesday, December 3.

Important note: This meeting will take place at Botany Hall, the building behind Phipps Conservatory on Schenley Drive in Oakland. Doors will open at 6:30 PM, the meeting will begin at 7:30, and the program will follow at 8.

Because of strict rules at the hall, no food or beverages will be allowed. Do not bring the usual hospitality goodies this time. For directions to the Conservatory, see www.phipps.conservatory.org/directions.htm.

A resident of Stahlstown in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Barth is famous around the world, but he first came to the attention of birders in the Three Rivers area for his astonishing sculpture of a Great Horned Owl family presented to the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. It is on permanent display at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve in Fox Chapel. If you haven't seen it, you should stop for a look.

Among Barth's honors is a prestigious Master Wildlife Artist award given by the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin, in 1991. His work appeared in the museum's international juried exhibition titled "Birds in Art."

Julie Zickefoose, an internationally known bird artist herself, acclaims him on her blog at www.juliezickefoose.com, describing him as "the world's greatest bird carver…because he knows birds from the inside out and has the soul of an artist and the mind of a physicist." The result, she says, is art that is "heartbreakingly beautiful."

Don't miss this opportunity to learn about Barth's amazing achievements.