Etsy!

I finally got my Etsy shop set up today! If you are interested in purchasing a magnet act soon, by the end of the week they might be all at Komoda (an awesome local gift shop) and off Etsy. Currently I'm only taking Paypal orders through Etsy because using a credit card more than doubles the fees. Mastercard: Squashing on one artist's dreams at a time. Priceless. Do those ads still exist? Anyway, just click on the "SHOP" link to the right to be directed to my Etsy shop (RustyRoostStudio, naturally 'RustyRoost' is taken even though the owner has never posted anything). Oh and if you want to order with a card, just email me and I can send you an invoice.

Lately I have been making more magnets, even though I would love to be welding more lamps. I did a couple for a commission, they're a cute pair (see below). A couple weeks ago I worked an event for a fantastic theater company called Redmoon. They were putting on the annual benefit party, Lunatique. I helped with props and changing equipment during the show. There was a giant champagne chandelier in which a silks performer did acrobatics and poured champagne for donors, while suspended in mid air!! I feel very comfortable with status as a land animal, so this was mind boggling to me. Not to mention the fear of spilling expensive champagne on rich people. Hopefully I'll be working for them again this weekend, this time helping them make 2D puppets. Can't wait!

(Photo courtesy of Al Zayed Photography, to see more photos from the event click here)

Slow But Steady

I am catching up on posts today, and am trying not to get too frustrated at Blogger. Still figuring this out, and occasionally having to re-write posts because they mysteriously disappear after I add pictures. But anyway, not interesting. In the last few weeks I have been making slow but steady progress. My wire samples arrived (so pretty!), my actual wire arrived with the plug (let there be light!), I finished a family of robots (now I am sad to see them go), and drum roll please.... I finished a lamp (only 6 months after I started it...)! Lots of pictures below, and I had to restrain myself from including too many pictures of cat & lamp. Stuff is so photogenic, she upstages the lamp.

Uncovered Hearth

Spending some time during my breaks from grant writing to chip away at the plaster covering up the beautiful hearth in my apartment. The building was constructed in the end of the 19th century (I think). There was a fire in the 1920s, after which the building was renovated, and I'm guessing that's when the hearths were plastered over. My neighbor discovered the same thing in her apartment, only she actually finished her excavation project, motivating me to get back to it! We love this building, and it's exciting to peel back one of the layers of time to get another clue to how people used to live here. Plus the gold and green tile is gorgeous! Much nicer than old dirty plaster. Now back to it!

Studio Intro

Welcome to my tiny studio! This is where bike parts turn into gremlin-like robots, where bike chains turn into lamps, and where I get very, very greasy. My studio companions are my cats, Stanley and Stuff, and my dog Rowan. The cats are more often irritating than not, jumping up on my bench every few minutes, ripping up a plastic bag, knocking tiny parts onto the floor, basically being cats in a studio. I could lock them out, but the incessant whining and scratching can be more maddening. Rowan just sleeps and monitors the cats. All in all the three of them keep me company. Although I would love to have more light I do enjoy working in my little cozy studio(/guest bedroom/office).

Trying Something New

Rusty Roost is my attempt to chronicle my time in Chicago spent making things and creating a home for myself, my boyfriend, our two cats, and our dog. We are a motley crew, all in a two bedroom apartment. Since moving to Chicago in 2009 from Oberlin, Ohio, I have been struggling to figure out how to continue making the things that made me so happy in school. It's easy to lose touch with one's creativity when it doesn't seem like a viable lifestyle, especially when entering the "real world" in the middle of a recession. I've been living "on the fringes of the economy" (to quote my dad), holding jobs in restaurants or nannying. Recently my position with the family I nannied for ended, and I took it as a sign that it's time for some real change and if I'm going to do this art stuff, I have to stop screwing around and get down to it. I didn't come to this conclusion all on my own though, without the support and encouragement of my family and close friends I doubt I would be writing this now. So here goes, I am embracing my unemployment and will be spending time every day experimenting, making, getting frustrated, sticking with it, having fun, and getting dirty. Wish me luck, and thanks for reading!