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"Recycled Rugs,"
shawls, scarves,
household items and woven clothing
Gifted with
an innate sense of color but minimal formal art training, Chris Gustin found
her creative calling in a weaving class in college many years ago. Since
taking early retirement from her real job as a journalist, she plies her
woven wares to an ecologically minded public. Her unique rugs can be found
in homes around the world but she is doubly proud of finding a new use for
industry "scrap" which she reclaims to create her one-of-a-kind Recycled
Rugs.
Chris's rugs are carried by shops from Seattle to Brooklyn and her customers
find her through her web site:
www.homesteadweaver.com. Chris does not take part in many art shows;
instead she invites people to her studio where they may see her collection
of looms and the weaving process. When she's not weaving, she builds web
sites for other artists or works in her perennial, vegetable, meditation and
weaver's gardens.
Artist Statement:
It was all because of that quilt. In
1974, long before recycling was politically correct, my husband and I went
to the World's Fair in Spokane, Washington. There was a patchwork quilt on
display that read "Recycle and Re-use." Seeing that quilt has had a
life-long impact on me and my weaving.
Through the years, in order to find materials that I could recycle into my
weaving, I have cultivated diverse sources: thrift shops, sock factories,
bedding manufacturers, weaving mills. My efforts turn industry excess into
contemporary and functional art.
At Homestead Weaving Studio, we believe the future of the planet is in our
hands. We practice recycling in our personal lives and in our business. We
specialize in making rugs from recycled material, helping the environment by
keeping usable goods out of landfills.
Chris has
been a weaver for 40 years, and a production weaver for 25 years,
creating tens of thousands of rugs, placemats, throws, scarves and other
items using materials recycled from the textile industry. These components
are new but not useable by the
big mills. Chris' recycling efforts repurpose about a ton of "scrap" per year and have earned her recognition from
environmental, "green" and waste management groups.
Her work was recently displayed
in an article in "Craft's Report,"
"Natural Home" and "Midwest Living" magazines. "Weaver's Friend" ran an
article in 2007 focusing on her weaving. In 2005, she was featured in the
Everyday Cheapskate
newspaper column in an article about plastic bag rugs.
Chris
works in her studio at 6285 Hamilton Creek Road,
Columbus, IN 47201, and accepts commissions.
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