As the summer comes to a close, the plants on my back porch are starting to suffer
and wither in the cooler Fall weather. But, it’s still great to see every morning as
my rusty farm gear “curtain” is getting covered by morning glories & cardinal flowers!
Okay… so it’s really more leaves, and not so much flowers… but it still looks nice!

Plus, a quick shot of the “other” side…
so you can see all of the BEAUTIFUL rust!!!

Another “addition” to my collection of cool rusty things!
You should know by now that I’m addicted to all things rusty… it’s the colors,
the textures, the patina, the aged-ness… all of it is very cool to me! So when I did
the Evanston Lakeshore Arts Festival a few weekends ago… I scored big!!!

It was actually part of the Silent Auction. I noticed it when I was dropping off my vase
for the auction and was instantly smitten. And then I found out that the artist’s booth
was just a couple spaces down from mine. So I looked at all of her other really cool
rusty things – but was still in love with the piece that was part of the Silent Auction…
so I had my work cut out for me! Just to clarify… it’s a rusty shovel head that has been
cut with a beautiful pattern using a plasma torch. Still not sure where it’s going to hang,
but I am sure it will have a place of honor!!!

So here’s the story. I found out that one of the top bidders was my friend Amy Taylor.
One of the nicest metalsmiths out there who does this cool “hinged” jewelry. Love it.
Anyways, she was bidding throughout the day as her booth was right across the walkway.
Mine was all the way across the art fair. So I decided to “swoop in” at the very last moment
and try to “win” the auction. All was going well… 3 minutes… 2 minutes… 1 minute…
30 seconds… and I was going to be the last & top bidder. But then…

Up walks Amy’s fianceé Tom to do her final bidding. And I had to take him down!
I literally had to hold him in a headlock while I wrote my bid down “slowly” as to be
the final bid. I also found out that Amy had a “cap” on her bidding… but I was more than
ready to go higher. I was ready to buy one for full price at the artists booth, but it was the
design and the “broken off” section that I was drawn to. So I had to get this one… and I
was willing to pay for it. Amy’s “cap” was lower than mine… so Tom finally acquiesced
and the auction closed! And now I’m the proud owner of another piece of rust!!!

Check out Denice Bizot and her wonderful rusty artwork at… www.denicebizot.com

Some may call it broken, destroyed, eroded, or even falling apart…

But there’s this great section of the North Avenue Beach breakwater that has a lot
of exposed rebar sticking out of the cement pier. A little unexpected rebar art.
And you know how I love rusty metal!!!… and a sunrise too?… perfect.

Another cold & rainy day here in Chicago. At least the plants like it.
As does the rusty metal installation on my back porch! Last year I received these rusty
metal pieces of farm equipment from Rosene & Gerry, my very first art fair friends!
They’ve know of my “rust addiction” and have fed into it many times. So I took these
rusty gear-wheels and hung them on my back porch almost like a curtain. Along with
some blown glass orbs for color. This summer, I’m trying something new…
not only did I start seedlings early on which are now planted in flower pots, but I’m
also trying to get the Cardinal Climber Vines to grow up into the rust!!! So far so good…