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ZZ Top legend Dusty Hill's treasured items now available to fans in new estate sale

ZZ Top fans can own a piece of history in this Dusty Hill estate sale.

Photo by Emily Jaschke

UPDATE: Due to a “clerical error,” Gilded Monkey Market’s Thom Anderson tells CultureMap, information the estate sale company released to the press incorrectly insinuated that the Dusty Hill’s family is behind this sale. Rather, says Anderson, “this is an estate sale of the contents of his prior home.” Anderson now says that the contents are for sale by the new owners of Hill’s home; this was not information initially provided.

Additionally, after further inquiry by CultureMap, an attorney for Hill’s family advises that this sale is “not in any way affiliated with Hill's estate or his family.”

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Fans who are still mourning the passing of Dusty Hill, bassist for iconic Houston rock band ZZ Top, now have a chance to own a piece of some of his belongings.

A new estate sale, which will be held from Friday, June 10 through Sunday, June 12 at The Guilded Monkey Market warehouse (7023 Rampart St.) in southwest Houston, will offer up belongings from the star’s former home.

Select pieces come from Hill’s home in a prestigious neighborhood in The Woodlands and include his collection of art, plus home and office furnishings, a wide range of rugs, personal accessories, and concert memorabilia. Notably for collectors, all items will come with a certificate of authenticity. (No word if any cheap sunglasses are available.)

“The family knows how beloved Dusty was in Houston and Texas and all around the country,” Thom Anderson, who is organizing the sale with partner Dominique Kendall, tells CultureMap. “They’re excited to share some of his most personal items with his fans.”

Anderson notes that his team are still unpacking boxes, but fans can look forward to Hill’s private desk, dining table, a bed with a 9-foot-tall headboard, and of course, swag from his ZZ Top glory days.

One standout is a simple office dry erase board, on which Hill sketched a self portrait in marker and even signed. “That, to me, is gold,” Anderson notes.

Born Joe Michael Hill, the epically bearded Dusty was born May 19, 1949 in Dallas, where he played cello as a student at Woodrow Wilson High School and picked up guitar with his brother, Rocky. The brothers played in bands around Dallas before Dusty moved to Houston with friend and future bandmate Frank Beard in the late 1960s.

Linking up with Billy Gibbons, the trio released their first record as ZZ Top in 1969. Major gigs included opening for the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix. ZZ Top became a staple in MTV’s early days, where they brought their signature Houston sound and memorable videos to a legion of new fans. The trio was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Hill passed away in his sleep at his home in Houston on July 28, 2021 at the age of 72.

ZZ Top fans would be wise to arrive early, Anderson notes, as pieces will go fast. “Owning something from Dusty Hill is bragging rights for any Texan,” Anderson adds. “This is a rare opportunity to own a piece of history.”

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The Dusty Hill estate sale will be held at the The Guilded Monkey Market warehouse (7023 Rampart St.) from June 10-June 12. For more information, call 713-360-3147.

bowled over

Houston artist dishes on Food Bank fundraiser happening this weekend

Picture of several artists at a table with a bunch of handmade ceramic bowls.

Photo courtesy Paula Murphy

Ceramics professor Cori Cryer and her students from Lone Star College Kingwood and the bowls they donated to the 20th Empty Bowls fundraiser

On Saturday, May 16, shoppers have an opportunity to feed those in need by purchasing unique, handcrafted items. The 20th Empty Bowls event takes place at Silver Street Studios at Sawyer Yards from 10 am to 3 pm. A preview party takes place on Friday, May 15 from 6-8 pm (buy tickets here).

The fundraiser is a collaboration between Houston-area ceramists, woodturners, and artists working in all media and Silver Street Studios.

Shoppers can purchase one-of-a-kind bowls for $25 each (larger bowls are priced accordingly). A simple lunch from Salata, a sweet treat from Ben & Jerry’s, and iced coffee from Katz Coffee is served until it runs out. Every dollar of the purchases goes to the Houston Food Bank, which estimates that for every dollar donated, it’s able to provide three meals to Houstonians in need. Since its inception, Empty Bowls Houston has raised $1,208,959 for the Houston Food Bank, which equates to more than 3.6 million meals.

The event also includes live music and art demos. More than 2,000 bowls will be available for purchase, donated by area artists.

Empty Bowls began as a grassroots effort started many years ago at a high school in Michigan and is now held all over the world. Nearly everything for Empty Bowls events, from the food served to the venues hosting events and the bowls for sale are donated.

Cori Cryer, a professor of ceramics at Lone Star College Kingwood, is one of those who, along with her students, donated bowls for the fundraiser. She’s been involved with the effort for all of its 20 years in Houston, and before that in other cities.

“When I started donating, I didn't have a whole lot of money,” Cryer tells CultureMap. “I was a graduate student, and so this was a way for me to give back to the local community. And I think my students today kind of recognize that same feel. You know, they may not have money to send a check off to someone, [but this is] an easy way for them to be able to contribute to the community.”

Cryer teaches Ceramics I and Ceramics II to a variety of dual-credit high school students, college students, and continuing education students. Those in her Ceramics II classes are required to create five bowls to donate to Empty Bowls. But her students in her introductory class often end up donating as well. This year, she and her students provided approximately 150 bowls for the event.

Cryer said that the style of bowls for sale range from something as small as a condiment bowl to much larger serving bowls As each bowl is an individual work, they represent a variety of styles and themes. One of her students this year designed a glazed, ceramic leaf-shaped bowl with ceramic insects on it.

“There's a ladybug and a caterpillar and a spider,” she says, each created out of clay and positioned around the bowl.

Cryer loves seeing how the artists use their imaginations and abilities.

“Most of my students do throw their bowls on the pottery wheel, but that's not required,” she says. “They can hand-build them. It’s completely up to them what kind of construction technique they use.”

Cryer loves knowing that this event is a way for students to see that their artistic efforts can have lasting impact on the community around them. In addition to being able to support the Houston Food Bank, the bowls her class donates, she knows, take on special meaning for those who purchase them.

“I tell my students there is a pot for every person and a person for every pot,” she says.

In fact, one of her personal favorite bowls is one she purchased from an Empty Bowls sale.

“It's a very small bowl, maybe like three inches in diameter, and two inches tall, and it's a little pink pig that I think an elementary student made,” she said. “He has no tail, and he has no ears, but he has a snout, and it is definitely a pig. And I love that little bowl. I have it sitting on my desk at home.”

Cryer knows shoppers attending the Empty Bowls sale will find similar, soon-to-be-beloved items.

The Saturday event is free. Those wishing to attend the preview party on Friday, May 15 from 6-8 pm, which offers light bites, beer and wine, and the first chance to purchase bowls, can purchase a $50 ticket online. In addition, Archway Gallery is hosting an exhibition of 30 one-of-a-kind bowls that can be purchased as part of the Empty Bowls fundraiser. The exhibit runs through May 30.