We're Baaack!

The First Saturday Art Market (FSAM) returns this weekend!  This new season marks the ninth anniversary of the FSAM, and our third year. The critters and I have really enjoyed spending time with our boothmate Leisa, of McCordworks, during this past year- we're looking forward to 2013!

Here's one of my favorite photos from last September, on International Bacon Day.  Where else in Houston can you see amazing art, eat delicious food, and listen to great music all in the same place?  And... now we even have wine!

Hope to see y'all this Saturday!  Please send us warm and sunny thoughts- according to the weather report, we are going to need it!

Outside the Box

Last Friday night, the critters and I participated in Outside the Box, an "assemblage" show held at the East End Studio Gallery (EESG).  This show, curated by Julie Zarate and David Pilgrim, was one of the most interesting shows I've been to all year.  "Assemblage" meant something different and unique to every artist, and the results were spectacular!

Penny McDonald
Her Secret Is Patience

Rob McDonald
Too Late

Julia Salazar
El Social De Las Ardillas Rosas

Julie Zarate
In Somnis Veritas

Drita Mendez
Awake

Edgar Hernandez
Oskar

Robin Baker
Oil Spill

Lizbeth Ortiz
El Clavado Ravado

Sam Van Bibber
Worship

And of course jewelry by the awesome Kristen Kramlich of Frilled and Feathered, and her able assistant...

Our critter "section" looked great-thanks to the EESG team!

Legends and Friends: Mothman and Flatwoods Monster

Mecha Bat

Steampunk Android

Butterfly Transport

 This was a one-night show only, but make sure to attend the next event at EESG- there is always something worth seeing.

East End Studio Gallery
708 C Telephone Road
Houston, TX  77023
eestudiogallery@gmail.com
http://petit-ecolier.net/eesg/

Critter Zen

Wow- two entries in less than 24 hours!

Recently, some of the critters have been residing at Zen Artspace, in the Houston Galleria.  We have been part of the Artists in Wonderland and Superhero group shows so far, and we are looking forward to Apocalypse, coming up this July.  It's a great place to be, with a variety of interesting work from several Houston artists.

I'm a huge fan of the plushie fashion created by Zen Art Director, Kyle Fu.  Kyle is an amazing origami artist as well.

Here's my zombie Yoda peeking out the window...

Manbearpig, Werebub, Xiong Mao, and Yao Guai enjoy hanging out with our friend Kristen's awesome jewelry...

Wondering who'll be there next?  Here's a hint...

Purple Elephants and Iron Butterflies

 Howdy and Happy Wednesday!

Recently, I've discovered a slew of photos from our past shows/adventures that have not been posted, so I'll be skipping around a bit for the next few days...

When I arrived at Debra Reese's Purple Elephant Gallery/Iron Butterfly Studio for the first time, I let out a scream of delight!  The setting outside was so beautiful, and... there were even goats!  This truly magical place is located along the Street of Dreams in Cypress, Texas.

It's the perfect place to relax on a nice day...

We're really excited to have our own critter section in the whimsical boutique.  Here are Sigmond, Fleur and Chelsie hanging out on the wall:

General Rusty Bunny, Shirazz, Fuzz, Badtz Maru and the monsters are nearby:

During the Grand Re-Opening on 5 May 2012, our friend Tracy, artist coordinator and jewelry designer extraordinaire, let us share her awesome studio space.  We even had air conditioning- woohoo! 

She presented us with a portrait of one of the monsters that she had recently painted.  We were so honored- friends are the best!

 

We can't wait to go back!  Please stop by when you have a chance, and say hi to Debra, Tracy and the gang.

The Purple Elephant Gallery and Iron Butterfly Studio

12802 McSwain Rd.

Cypress, TX 77429 

713.294.2304

*Business hours are 11 am - 6pm, Wed., Thurs., Fri & 1st Sat. of every month.

The Big Move!

Well, it finally happened... the critters and I moved to another apartment, closer to work and we will finally have more space- yay! I now have an art/music studio and won't have to peel the paint, glue and glitter off my dining room table anymore...

The process was a complete nightmare though, and I don't ever remember feeling so absolutely exhausted... And now we are dwelling in the Land of Cardboard! Wage doesn't seem to mind though, especially since he enjoys rearranging the boxes:

In the style of David Letterman, here is my Top 10 List of what I have learned this time regarding moving- enjoy!

10. Wage loves to move and rearrange boxes. It never gets him down- seriously!

9. Do not buy the cheap 2/$5 packing tape- everyone will complain about it!

8. Make sure to have at least 150 cartons and 20 boxes of bubble wrap on hand at all times...

7. TV and internet really do keep the peace- you do not want to know what happens when they are disconnected...

6. When the movers get there and you're not finished, just throw the rest of your crap in shopping bags on the truck. Trust me- this is what you should do!

5. Be well-stocked with as many unhealthy munchies and beverages as you can find...

4. Driving back and forth to your old place for 12 days after the move to finish up is super-fun!

3. Make sure all family members are fully seated in your car BEFORE driving away...

2. Ask for the same guys who moved you last time- it's like having a family reunion!

1. Moving during the month of August in Houston is the worst idea ever! EVER! EVER! EVER!

Bernard and The BIG Show

Hey there everyone! Hope you are all having a nice week so far...

The last couple of weeks have been crazy- there was the Houston Artists Collective Extravaganza Show at JoMar Visions/Hardy Nance Studios, and our entries for The BIG Show at the Lawndale Art Center were also due.

I've only entered one other submission to The BIG Show several years ago. It would seem that the general "aesthetic" chosen by the curators for The BIG Show does not quite match up with my style and concept of art... There is a different curator each year, so I decided to give it a whirl this time, in addition to convincing a few of my artist friends as well. Hopefully we'd all get accepted this year!

The BIG Show is a bit unusual in that the jurying process is done from the actual artwork, and not from photos or slides. There were two drop-off days and then if you were not called this past Sunday, you were to come pick up your piece(s) on Monday or Tuesday. The competition was pretty stiff- 404 artists submitted 972 pieces of their work this year, and only 74 artists and 125 pieces were accepted this year. The verdict? Sadly, I was not accepted... Actually, only one of our group of four made it through- but we were really psyched for him!

I tried to expand my piece beyond my usual concepts (as we all did) to see if perhaps that would work out this time, but apparently to no avail... My piece this year is titled The Reaper of our Intellects. Kind of creepy-cute, yet applicable (or so I thought), considering what has been going on in the world lately due to social networking and the internet...

The materials used for this piece include a vinyl mini Munny, a vinyl mini Jumping Brain, Sculpey, acrylic paint, varnish, fabric, paper, a canvas panel, and found objects:

Here is a close-up of Bernard, our friendly neighborhood Reaper, with Ollie, his Twitterific side-kick:

A close-up of the base:

This is only my second piece to contain any type of "blood," don't worry- it's just red paint! Thought I have to admit, it was fun dripping the paint over the mini Jumping Brain... I'm going to need to customize a few of these for Halloween this year for sure!

Bernard was really bummed out about the rejection this past Monday, so I got him some ice cream and chips to try and cheer him up:

There is some good news though...

Local artist Emily Sloan has organized another show, called Salon des Refusés: Artwork Rejected from The BIG Show 2011! Bernard will get to be in a show after all- yay! Emily's show is actually inspired from the original Salon des Refusés, held in Paris, during 1863. Artwork from such masters as Manet, Cezanne and Whistler had been rejected from the Paris Salon, and the show had been organized to "let the people decide." Sounds like we are all in excellent company!

This is the second year Emily has coordinated this show- the inaugural event was held at the Bissonnet Art Salon. This year, the Salon des Refusés will be held at Gallery M Squared in the Heights, during the same time as The Big Show.

2011 Salon des Refusés Information:

Gallery M Squared
339 West 19th St., Houston, TX 77008

Opening date: Friday, 1 July 2011, 6:30-9pm
Opening Music provided by DJ Esteff/Stephanie Saint Sanchez

On view: 6-9 July 2011, 10am to 6pm
Closing date: Saturday, July 9, 2011

Please come out and support Bernard!

Comicpalooza!

Last weekend, the critters and I shared a booth with Kristen, of Frilled and Feathered @ Comicpalooza.

What is Comicpalooza? It is Houston's answer to the massive San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) held annually, and it looks like it will be here to stay! This event brings together comic book and toy vendors, artists, television and movie stars, and of course, let's not forget the fans... Apparently, Comicpalooza began in 2008, and was originally held the lobby of the Alamo Drafthouse, with just a few celebrities. It has now grown to take over the third floor of the George R. Brown Convention Center, with 10,000 attendees and events held until 2:00 am!

We knew we were going to have a fun weekend when we saw this truck in the parking lot on Friday morning:

Our booth was in the Dealer's Room, and we met lots of awesome vendors there. It took all of our combined forces of self-control not to go crazy and buy everything in sight! Here are a few of our absolute favorite booths:

Bean Pot Toiz
San Antonio, TX

We loved the BPT family of Grego, Stacie and Kaylah! They were just the nicest peeps and had an amazing selection of designer vinyl toys and accessories. They are the perfect example of how the family who sells vinyl toys together stays together!

I loved this huge Rat Fink they had on display:

Bekyoot
Houston, TX

Diagonally behind us was Christy, from Bekyoot, the artist who creates all of Bekyoot's awesome designs. We just fell in love with her adorable critters, and she was a very sweet neighbor to boot:

Tribbletoys
Los Angeles, CA

How many times had I wanted my very own Tribble during that episode of Star Trek? Well... now I have my very own, and it's pink! The Tribbles also vibrate and make an adorable squeaking sound...

Giant Microbes
Los Angeles, CA

The Tribble guy also sold Giant Microbes, those plushie germs and blood cells that we all would like to love and call our very own...

He brought a huge and varied selection with him, and apparently decided to highlight the STD critters... too funny!

This is the first time Kristen and I have shared a booth- the critters have now become huge fans of her awesome Steampunk jewelry:

I brought LOTS of mini monsters, and many of them found homes with very nice people! I even had some glow-in-the-dark Zombie Monsters...

Here is the rest of the gang (and some paintings:

Fuzz the Undercover Pirate Bear and General Rusty Bunny enjoyed their view from atop Kristen's and Brent's living room shelves...:

The Lego exhibit in the Artists' Alley was truly amazing!

Gotta LOVE the dinosaur and the poor little aliens being held up:

Here is the Lego Man posing with two members from the "Adventures of the Travelling Sperm." I know... don't ask!

Finally, we had my favorite visitor to our booth at the end of the day on Sunday:

It was quite the experience! We spent most of our time (when we weren't chatting with customers) giggling and pointing out all of the awesome and outrageous costumes than many fans wore to this event:

Captain Jack Sparrow

This guy was awesome- he even walked like Johnny Depp! His wife said he'd been practicing for weeks, and it showed!




Stormtrooper

Stormtrooper now apparently has a family! This guy was very tall- and there were many Stormtrooper sightings of all sizes throughout the weekend...

Probably the most difficult part of the weekend was to keep from buying all of the cool stuff, and it was EVERYWHERE! I was pretty good, but I did purchase an adorable t-shirt and Berry Ninja from Bekyoot, and a medium pink Tribble from Tribbletoys. I also acquired a Munny Mobile and some other awesome vinyl toys from Bean Pot Toiz... How could I resist? I was also lucky to score a free Darth Vader Key Chain from McDonalds, and a coupon for a free frozen Strawberry Lemonade. Not bad, huh?


I will now close with some memorable fan quotes from the weekend:

"Chekov is MY Barbie!"

"I geek-out differently now, as opposed to how I used to geek-out..."

"Mmmmm-brains..."

And my most favorite...

"Hi, I'd like to inquire about adopting a monster..."