world famous crochet museum and the art queen in joshua tree, ca

One of the quirky places we visited in Joshua Tree was a place called the Art Queen. It was a bit of an artist’s playground, converted from an old motel out in the desert. Shari Elf is the woman behind Art Queen who makes art from recycled thrift store or flea market finds. What really drew me to the place was the promise of a tiny little museum housed in an old Foto-mat drive through.

art-queen-joshua-tree

This is the sign you see when you’re driving by. These are some of the examples of the art you’ll find in the shop printed onto t-shirts, tote bags, posters and more. 

welcome-sign-crochet-museum

And a welcome sign to what we really came to see: The World Famous Crochet Museum! 

recycled-stage

You walk down a little path that spills you out here. It looks like a stage built completely out of recycled materials with mismatched tables and chairs for seating. Everything’s got a dusty rusty feel to it which just adds to the charm.

world-famous-crochet-museum

And here it is: The World Famous Crochet Museum! How much do I love that this whole thing is painted green?!


Jake and I both thought it looked a bit like a ViewMaster.

crochet-museum-outer-closeup

through-the-doorway

You just pop the door open on the side and step right in to this magical land of crochet.

crocheted-animals

So many poodles!

crocheted-teacups-more-animals

And bears and elephants and monkeys and dolls and…. tea pots?

crocheted-mushrooms-and-things

I dig that tiny octopus. 

tiny-place-of-yarn

donation-jar

egg-frying-pan-crochet

My very favorite was the egg in the skillet! I wish I could do crochet, but instead I’ll just admire this handiwork. 

wheels-of-fortune

Around the crochet museum were other bits and pieces of art. 

desert-whale

t-in-rocket-ship

T wanted to see if he could get into this little mini rocket ship looking piece. Obviously you can see the answer for yourself. 

trailer-with-heads

We also spied this trailer on the lot. I could see some faces staring at me through the doorway so I went to take a look…

heads

Hello semi-creepy heads. What’s up?

poodle-painting

There was also a little shop displaying more artwork.

shari-elf-art

Plus Shari’s CD’s (she’s also a musician). The CD’s were the only thing that had prices on it. For pretty much everything else I spied a sign that said “Pay What You Want”. I didn’t partake of anything but it was cool to see all of the recycled art! This is a fun, quirky spot to visit in the desert! Totally recommended.

World Famous Crochet Museum and The Art Queen
61855 CA-62
Joshua Tree, CA 92252


2 thoughts on “world famous crochet museum and the art queen in joshua tree, ca

  1. This is totally rad!!! I know I can count on you to check out unusual spots like this! I live for this! One of these days, me, Bert and TC need to make our own road trip out here.

    1. Hi CC – I knew you’d appreciate this post 🙂 I love those unusual quirky spots. This area seemed to be filled with unusual art – I think you, Bert, and TC would really enjoy it!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.