Hi – I’m Cindy Chinn. I’m a dedicated artist who works in a wide range of mediums. In 2006, I left the corporate art world of being a Creative Director and took a leap of faith into the unknown by buying a 33,000-square-foot school building in rural Nebraska. My dream had always been to have enough studio space to not have to put my tools away and my retirement goal is to turn that space into an artist’s retreat (however I just turned 62 and have no plans of retiring anytime soon). This property would give me the opportunity to do just that. So here I am, working on variety of mediums, building studios, and creating! I have 11 fully equipped studios that range from Glass, to Metal, to painting Murals, and beyond …I have a lot of interests 🙂
For more information about my Artistic Accomplishments follow this link https://cindychinn.com/about-cindy-chinn/
And a good place to see a variety of my projects and process is to follow this link https://cindychinn.com/artwork-blog-by-cindy-chinn/
My work is wide-ranging but is centered on working with recycled materials. I’ve been a scrap metal artist for the past 9 years and before that I was repurposing daily items to give them new life. My current series is made from old bicycle tires! Since I was a kid looking for used parts to make my go kart go faster, I’ve been looking at ways to reuse things rather than trash them. It comes from a combination of frugalness and inquisitiveness, because knowledge and understanding is key …Right?
Moving from the city life of Las Vegas to small-town USA I’m honing my craft, expanding my knowledge, and sharing it with the world!
The risk and challenge has been worth it, once again. (I am known for standing out side of the box)
I like to combine mediums and this piece (masterpiece?) shows how carried away I can get. I made this peacock from a mix of scrap metal, copper, brass, wood, glass and used each for its specific properties. I colored each piece with custom patinas or natural colors, and in some cases I used enameling and cloisonne to find the correct color, a technique that I picked up in college. This sculpture took me a year to make, now that is dedication!
Each feather is separately crafted and finished. You can see more of it here on this page: Making of a Life-Size Peacock
Another recent large piece I’ve made is the “Phoenix Fire Pit”. I built this 9 foot sculpture mostly from old saw blades. I designed a custom fire ring in the base so the Phoenix was ‘rising from the flames’ – This is my first large piece that I created in my new metal studio, that I converted the old gym into. It represents my rebirth as a Metal Artist, struggling to break free of his chains of my smaller welding shop!
I am most universally known for my miniature work! I’ve been carving pencils for quite a while now, and love the challenges this medium brings as I hone this skill. My work has been published in books and magazines around the world. My latest exhibit was earlier this year (2024) in Doha, Qatar where I had 30 carvings on display.
I started my studies as an Artist, painting. Over the years I have created many large murals in publics spaces, as well as smaller canvases. Here’s a favorite canvas of mine and part of my ‘Sint Maarten’ series, which included beaches and goats.
Currently I am focusing on recycled bicycle tires sculptures for a traveling exhibit to promote public awareness of the impact that waste is having on the world. The process for recycling bicycle tires is complicated because of the added chemicals and materials and very few tire recyclers will take them. They are toxic to the earth and are not biodegradable which adds to the need for alternative use, like making artwork! We need more Rubber Artists in the world!
Here’s a look at some of my recent work made from old bicycle tires and related parts. 😀
Follow this link for more information on the making of the Raven- https://cindychinn.com/re-tired-raven-made-from-bicycle-tires/
And one of my favorites from this series is the “Squirrel-go-Round” 😀
Who knows where my journey will take me next! 😀 This is why I love my life and the path that it is on!
It might be quiet in small-town Nebraska, but it’s never boring in my studios! 😀
Here’s a couple of videos that show a little more of what I work on.
April 2021: This is a more recent clip which shows the range of mediums I work in, as well as some of my studio space in Chester. Produced by NET Nebraska.
Here is another video (which I need to update!) that gives a good overview.