Vote for Yetibub!

Hi everyone! Please vote for Yetibub- he's in the Kidrobot Munnyworld Megacontest. Here is the link: http://sites.kidrobot.com/munnyworld-megacontest/allEntries.php

Materials used: Vinyl Bub Munnyworld figure, acrylic paint, varnish, pompoms, Sculpey, poly fur, leather

Thanks so much and have a great weekend! :)

Busy Critters!

The critters are going to be attending lots of shows during the month of May- I'm hoping that I will be able to keep up with them, and we're hoping to see our friends at these Houston-area events:


Cast in Plastic: Art from the Designer Toy Revolution
Saturday, 14 May 2011
7-10 pm
Domy Books
1709 Westheimer
Houston, TX 77098
Cast in Plastic runs from 14 May 2011 - 23 June 2011

AlternaCraft
Sunday, 15 May 2011
12-6 pm
Boheme Cafe and Wine Bar
307 Fairview at Taft
Houston, TX 77006

Frida Festival 2011, "Viva la Vida"
Saturday, 21 May 2011
11 am-6 pm
East End Studio Gallery
708 Suite C Telephone Rd.
Houston, TX 77023

Comicpalooza
Friday, 27 May 2011: 12-7 pm
Saturday, 28 May 2011: 10 am-7 pm
Sunday, 29 May 2011: 10 am-6 pm
George R. Brown Convention Center
1001 Avenida De Las Americas
Houston, Texas 77010
Halls A3 and B3

Please stop by any of these events and come say hi to us!

Babo Buckaroos

Wow! I'm so happy everyone enjoyed my last post, so I've decided to post a few more photos from our Brenham photo-excursion...

In addition to bringing the plush Uglydolls, I also brought along two of my Babo vinyl action figures. They had lots of fun re-enacting the good old days of the wild, wild west!


The Babo Buckaroos knew it was going to be an exciting day...

What kind of place is this anyway?

There ain't enough cookies in this town for the both of us!

The Babo Buckaroos settled their differences and enjoyed the sunset:

Coastal Hay- what is that? Does hay grow in the water? Do we have to bring the hay to the coast? We'd better use that $7.95 for cookies instead...

After a long day, the two buckaroos headed back to the good 'ole ranch...

Critters and Bluebonnets

Since we are toward the end of a "modest" Bluebonnet season this year and it is such a gloomy day today, I thought I'd post some fun critter photos from a couple of years ago...

Our Houston Flickr group of friends decided to go on a photo-excursion to Brenham, TX during the height of the Bluebonnet season. It was just a perfect day and everyone had a great time- in spite of all of our allergies...

As per usual, my "models" came from my collection of Uglydolls, created by David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim. They did a great job!


Plunko and Babo looked for their friends:

Big Toe and Trunko took a ride with their camel friend Amit:

Trunko, Ugly Ghost, Plunko, Big Toe and Babo had lots of fun on the old tire swing:

Plunko loved the Indian Paintbrushes:

The critters were hungry!

Etsy Ugly Cute Oomoos

What is an Oomoo, you may ask? An Oomoo is an adorable, environmentally-friendly sculpture created by Chris Davies of floatingwoo on Etsy. It is cast from a combination of gypsum and acrylic fortifiers, and the texture feels quite smooth, like porcelain.

Chris initiated a discussion in our Etsy Ugly Cute Team Forum, proposing an Oomoo "team project" and we jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with Chris and his unique critters.

I received my Oomoo last week and I'm really looking forward to working on him:

Chris' Oomoo has made fast friends with my Oxybear:

Here are two custom Oomoos from our Etsy Ugly Cute Team members:

Brienna
Brienna's Etsy Shop

Amber
Amber's Etsy Shop

Artists in the Park

Ok, so it's been a little over a week since Midtown Art in the Park, and I've finally finished unpacking the back of my car...

This year we had a great time, since many of the other artists have become our friends, and we could all visit each other and check out what everyone has been up to! It also didn't hurt that we actually had nice weather this time (and lots of tasty snacks).

So who are these friends? I know you're curious...

April Murphy: AEM Gallery
AEM Gallery Website
AEM Gallery Facebook
AEM Gallery Cafe Press Shop

April's colorful and whimsical animal paintings are beautiful and so much fun! The animals just have so much personality- they really make you giggle! And... she has the coolest sneakers ever!

Kristen: Frilled and Feathered
Frilled and Feathered Website
Frilled and Feathered Facebook
Frilled and Feathered Etsy Shop

Here are Kristen and her husband Brent, modeling her adorable moustache necklaces. Kristen hand-forges all of the metal for her jewelry, and also uses different techniques to create the beautiful colors and interesting textures for many of her pieces. We'll be sharing a booth at Comicpalooza this May- it's going to be lots of fun! The critters are going to have a great time trying on her jewelry...

Linda Baker-Hardy: Mamapainter
Linda Baker-Hardy Blog
Linda Baker-Hardy - Mamapainter Facebook
Linda Baker-Hardy - Mamapainter Etsy Shop

I especially love Linda's unique 2D mixed media pieces. The birds and the trees are beautiful, and hand-sculpted out of a variety of different materials. Several of her pieces work well hung together as a group or even individually. Though not pictured here, I refer to Linda and her husband as the "Art Show Power Couple."

Rob Baker: robnzak
Robnzak Etsy Shop

Rob creates the most awesome ceramic Day of the Dead plates, pottery, and other ceramic designs. His sense of humor is most definitely present in many of these beautiful and unique pieces. And... make sure to come to his annual Day of the Dead group show each fall- it is not to be missed!

Nan Stombaugh: Nan Edwards Collection
Nan Edwards Collection Website and Shop
Nan Stombaugh Website and Shop

Nan's vintage jewelry is a fusion of lovely antique items from all over the world combined with the healing power of gemstones. Inspired by her grandmother, Nan creates very unique, one-of-a-kind pieces, including fantastic button rings! Nan has kept me entertained by being my fun "booth neighbor" at a few shows that we've done together this year.

Kym K: Firehouse Studio Gallery
Firehouse Studio Gallery Website

I have grown very attached to my "booth-mate" Kym's colorful, sparkly, and beautiful paintings and hand-painted furniture. She and I have spent many hours staring at each other's work at these shows, and I continue to be impressed by the details, beauty and humor in her pieces (and her booth planning skills on a napkin!). Kym's new piece shown below has definitely become one of my all-time favorites- I love the cute 3D fishies and how colorful and sparkly this painting is. Hey Kym, I've got the perfect place for it...

Valerie G: Cultured Critter Collective
Cultured Critter Collective Etsy shop
Cultured Critter Collective Website
Cultured Critter Collective Facebook

Here are the critters, en pleine air... They appeared to have a nice day, especially since they don't get outside much...

Shopping for the Japanese Relief Effort: Part II

Happy Monday everyone!

Here are some wonderful items from our fellow artisans that would make great gifts for others or for perhaps for yourself... Proceeds from these sales will be donated to the Japanese relief effort.


A Bear Hug for Japan
Available from sleepyking's Etsy Shop

Dream Big for Japan
Available from treespacestudio's Etsy shop

Hand-Painted Throw Pillows
Available from derilyns Etsy shop

Japan Relief Pocket Bear
Available from gabrielefelt's Etsy shop

Rebuild Japan Benefit Tee Shirt
Available from Sans Oceana Webshop

This interview with Former Shooto heavyweight champion, Enson Inoue, is quite eye-opening: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/06/enson-inoue-discusses-charity-work-life-in-evacuation-centers/?ncid=webmail

We can only hope that others who can, will follow his example.

Midtown Art in the Park

The critters will be making an appearance at the 5th Annual Midtown Art in the Park this Saturday. We'll be sharing a booth with Kym K, of Firehouse Studio Gallery.
We've also just heard that Houston Magazine has named Midtown Art in the Park one of the top ten events of this month-yay! This year, there will be 50 booths with 75 artists- we will be in booth 27, so please stop by and say hi! I'll be bringing several new "spring-inspired" critters and paintings- here are a few:


My Balloon (2011)

Thank You Easter Monster! (2011)

Spring Goblin (2011)

See ya'll Saturday! Oh... and apparently there will be cookies!

Midtown Art in the Park
Elizabeth Baldwin Park
1702 Elgin @ Chenevert
Houston, TX 77004

Saturday, 9 April 2011
10 am - 6 pm
Free Admission

New Uglydoll Goodies!

After reading a few of my previous entries, it is pretty obvious that I am a huge Uglydoll fan! I've actually met David Horvath in person, and he is super-nice, just as I had expected. It's really encouraging and exciting to see how their business has grown from his wife, Sun-Min Kim, sewing all of the Uglydolls by hand, to the current Uglyverse that they have created.

They have recently released so many adorable new items- I've decided to highlight a few of my favorites...

Ox Knit Cap
Available from the Giant Robot Webshop

Pointy Max Action Figure
(From Series 3 Uglydoll Action Figures)
Available from the Uglydoll Webshop

Uglydoll Tin Alarm Clock
Available from the Shop Rock Candy Webshop

Dave Darinko Classic Plush
Available from the Uglydoll Webshop

Babo Ceramic Cookie Jar
Available from the Uglydoll Webshop

Big Toe Retro Watch
Available from the Uglydoll Webshop

After you've purchased all of these great items, you can carry them around in this:

Uglydoll Tote Bag
Available from the Uglydoll Webshop

Happy shopping everyone!

Balloon Toyer

I've been waiting for quite some time for us to have a beautiful day like today! And of course, what does that mean? Time for critter photography!

I created Balloon Toyer for my friend and fellow toy customizer, Ryan. We are doing a mini custom Toyer Qee swap. He finished mine a couple of weeks ago- I'm really looking forward to its arrival!

It's quite fun but also challenging to work on such a small custom vinyl toy, as the mini Toyer Qee is only 2.5 inches tall! Usually for a piece of this size, I like to concentrate more on the overall texture and color, and then add some fun accessories! I used acrylic paint and ink, varnish, and genuine hematite to complete the actual toy. Some of you may recognize the balloon as an accessory from another vinyl toy out in production right now... I primed and painted it and attached a leather cord. I hope he likes it!

Balloon Toyer (2011)

Above the Radar

Apparently the critters made it to LaLa Land safely!

Above the Radar opened this past Saturday night at Crewest Gallery, in Los Angeles.

Exhibiting Artists:
2wenty, Aise, Bron Theron, Bytedust, Chor Boogie, DCYPHER, DENZ One, Destroy All Design, Dril One, Eone, EnikOne, Eriberto Oriol, Homo Riot, Hungerman, Huit, INEPT, IROK, John Carr, JTS, Kophns one, Man One, Mar, Max Neutra, Michael Pizarro, Nerve, Nils Jawa, Nineta, Revel, Rick Rodriguez, Rome, Sacred194, Sahl, Scotch!, Septerhed, Sergio D, SMEAR, Steve Martinez aka Pablo Jimenez, Thomas the Messenger, Valerie G, Victor Malagon

Opening Reception: April 2, 2011 from 6-10pm
With live music by DJ Phyz Ed

Artwalk Night: April 14, 2011 from 6-10pm
With live music by DJ Phyz Ed

Show closes: May 1, 2011

I'm really excited to be showing with so many talented artists- I wish I could have been at the opening!

Here are some photos from the preview:

By Max Neutra
I think these are awesome!

Fortune Rabbit: one of my critters-yay!

Crewest
110 Winston St.
Los Angeles, CA 90013
ph | 213-627-8272
Website: www.crewest.com
Email: info@crewest.com