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.

Comicpalooza 2012

Comicpalooza 2012 was a blast this year!  We loved catching up with our friends from last year and we made lots of new ones this year.  Finally, here are the photos that you have all been waiting for!

It was definitely exciting to see a line outside the George R. Brown Convention Center when I arrived on Friday morning.

You know things are going to be interesting when you see this vehicle parked inside!

It took a bit of time, but Wage and I finally got our half of the table set up.

We had lots of fun sharing a table with Mark Nasso, artist/writer of Land of the Rats.  On the other side of Mark is Austin Simmons, writer of Underfoot Alley.

Wage, of course, made friends with the rats that Mark had brought along with him.

 

 This Jawa stopped by to say hi.

We also had a visit from Dim and Wit- the monsters just loved them! 

We went to visit our friend Kristen, from Frilled and Feathered, to check out her new, cool stuff.  As per usual, Wage and I were very impressed!

No Comicpalooza would be complete without a visit to the Bean Pot Toiz booth!  Wage loved meeting Grego and Stacie, and they've got the best selection of vinyl toys around.  The family who sells vinyl toys together stays together! 

 

We then went to visit the Lilwickidz booth to say hi to "13" and to give him a big hug!

Such a cute, snuggly spider!  Wage adopted his very own plush Stitches in a coffin, and then we got some cool tattoos from their machine.

We then made our way over to our friend Kyle Fu's booth.  Kyle and his sister Kate, are the owners and art directors of Zen Artspace, in the Houston Galleria, where some of the critters are currently residing...

 

Kyle's origami is amazing- dragons, superheros, Darth Vader, AND zombies!

Kyle's sister, Kate, takes care of business!

Then we went back to the table to re-stock the critters.

There were lots more interesting characters roaming around:

The monsters always like to make new friends...

We loved these fun, furry creatures!

What a weekend it was- we can't wait until next year!  :)

Time to Vote!

Hey there peeps!  It's the last couple of days of the Kidrobot Munnyworld Custom Contest, and we can really use your votes!

We were thrilled that our submission from last year, Yetibub, was selected for third place in his category by the judges.   We've submitted two entries this year, Roozmonster and Urban Munny.  I'd be eternally grateful if the next time you are logged into Facebook, you could click on the links provided below and vote for our new critters!  You can vote for as many pieces as you like (and once a day) until the end of 31 May 2012.  Thank you so much in advance for doing this!  :) 

I hope to post our photos from Comicpalooza within the next few days...

Urban Munny
Please vote for me here: http://bit.ly/Kjofk7

Roozmonster
Please vote for me here: http://bit.ly/KOz1BU

Weekends and Wage

Wowie!  It's been over a month since I've written anything...

The critters and I just had seven shows in a five-week period, and to say that my brain is a bit jumbled would be an understatement!  Luckily, we did take some photos of those shows, just in case you missed us.

Around mid-April, it had been decided that Wage had become our "good luck charm," and he was to accompany us on our shows to assist and provide moral support.  He was such a huge help as always, and he enjoyed himself immensely, chatting with our friends and customers.  Everyone should have their good luck Uglydoll with them whenever possible...

The photos below come from the Market Street Fine Arts Festival in The Woodlands, TX.  It was a beautiful day, and we made lots of new friends.  We shared a booth with our friend Kristen, from Frilled and Feathered, and we had a great time as always!


"May I interest you in a lovely framed photograph?"

"How about one of these adorable monster necklaces?  Their eyes glow in the dark!"

(Time for a Diet Coke break...)

"Excuse me, Ma'am?  Would you like to adopt a monster?  They come with their own sleeping bags."

"I'm definitely impressed with the organization around here!"

Of course when we got home, I made sure Wage had the first cookie...  Boy, did he deserve it!  :)

 

Monsters on Main Street

Howdy! Just thought I'd post a few photos of my custom critters for the Monsters on Main Street show that opened last Friday night at The Rusted Nail Gallery in Mesa, Arizona. I so wish that I could have been there to have seen everyone's work, but I'm sure my little guys had a fun time...

Monsters on Main Street was an open platform show, thus we were able to submit whatever customs we chose to work on, as long as they ended up being monsters. I decided to use two SDCC special vinyl toys from Super7- Steven the Bat, which became Graffiti Bat, and Big Sal, which eventually changed into Forgotten Sal.

Hope you like them!

Graffiti Bat

Forgotten Sal

Monsters on Main Street runs through 5 May 2012.

The Rusted Nail Gallery
158 W. Main St.
Mesa, AZ 85201

Monday: Closed
Tuesday - Thursday: 11 am - 7 pm
Friday: 11 am - 10 pm (2nd Friday of each month)
Friday: 6-10 pm
Saturday: 11 am - 10 pm
Sunday: Closed

Spring Schedule

It's Monday- grrrr! My allergies are driving me CRAZY today, but nonetheless, I thought I'd give you an update of the critters' schedule for this year. Looks like we are going to be ingesting quite a bit of pollen outside over the next few months, but at least we'll have some yummy treats from H-town strEATs and Boheme Cafe among others. Most importantly, we hope to catch up with all of you! Our favorite part of all of these shows is when our friends and fans stop by- we are always very happy to see you!

Have a great week everyone! :)

Cultured Critter Collective 2012 Schedule

7 April 2012
First Saturday Arts Market
548 West 19th Street, Houston, TX 77008
http://www.firstsaturdayartsmarket.com/

13 April-5 May 2012
Monsters on Main Street
The Rusted Nail Gallery: 158 West Main Street Mesa, AZ 85201
http://therustednailgallery.blogspot.com/

13-14 April 2012
Artists in Wonderland
Zen Artspace: 5175 Westheimer Rd., Houston, TX, 77056 (inside the Houston Galleria)
http://zenartspace.com/

14 April 2012
Craftacular Second Saturday
Hello-Lucky: 1025 Studewood Street, Houston, TX 77008
http://www.hello-lucky.com/

22 April 2012
Alternacraft
Boheme Café and Wine Bar: 307 Fairview, Houston, TX 77006
http://alternacraft.wordpress.com/

28 April 2012
Market Street Fine Arts Festival
Market Street, between Lake Woodlands Drive, Lake Robbins Drive, Grogan’s Mill Road
and Six Pines Drive: The Woodlands, Texas 77380
http://www.marketstreet-thewoodlands.com

4 May 2012
Star Wars Invades War’hous- May The 4th Be With You!
War’hous Visual Studios: 4715 Main Street, Houston, TX 77002
http://www.warhous.com/index.html

5 May 2012
Grand Re-Opening- Purple Elephant Gallery
12802 McSwain, Cypress Texas 77429
http://www.thepurpleelephantgallery.com/

25-27 May 2012
Comicpalooza
George R. Brown Convention Center
1001 Avenida de las Americas, Houston, TX 77010
http://www.comicpalooza.com/

2 June 2012
First Saturday Arts Market
548 West 19th Street, Houston, TX 77008
http://www.firstsaturdayartsmarket.com/

4 August 2012
First Saturday Arts Market
548 West 19th Street, Houston, TX 77008
http://www.firstsaturdayartsmarket.com/

1 September 2012
First Saturday Arts Market
548 West 19th Street, Houston, TX 77008
http://www.firstsaturdayartsmarket.com/

September 2012 (dates:tba)
Valerie G Solo Show
Glitter Karaoke: 2621 Milam Street Houston, TX 77006
http://www.glitterkaraoke.com/

6 October 2012
First Saturday Arts Market
548 West 19th Street: Houston, TX 77008
http://www.firstsaturdayartsmarket.com/

3 November 2012
First Saturday Arts Market
548 West 19th Street: Houston, TX 77008
http://www.firstsaturdayartsmarket.com/

1 December 2012
First Saturday Arts Market
548 West 19th Street: Houston, TX 77008
http://www.firstsaturdayartsmarket.com/