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.
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.
And a welcome sign to what we really came to see: The World Famous Crochet Museum!
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.
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.
You just pop the door open on the side and step right in to this magical land of crochet.
So many poodles!
And bears and elephants and monkeys and dolls and…. tea pots?
I dig that tiny octopus.
My very favorite was the egg in the skillet! I wish I could do crochet, but instead I’ll just admire this handiwork.
Around the crochet museum were other bits and pieces of art.
T wanted to see if he could get into this little mini rocket ship looking piece. Obviously you can see the answer for yourself.
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…
Hello semi-creepy heads. What’s up?
There was also a little shop displaying more artwork.
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
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.
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!