Recent Work | Rusty Pedal Metal Works

rustypedaltucson@gmail.com

Today is this mindblowingly amazing persons birthd

Today is this mindblowingly amazing persons birthday.
I cannot tell you how much better my life is because @revolta_art is in it. From my travel buddy to my work partner Monique is my best friend beyond any previous understanding of that term.
We have always referred to each other as partners and I honestly love how that word fits in every context of our relationship. We have built a life together that, no matter how much darkness any moment brings, gives me comfort and happiness and faith to carry on because it is so much bigger than the ups and downs of life.
It is with all my heart and gratitude that I say Happy Birthday Monique! I love and appreciate you so very much!

📸: @gritchelle

West Highland White terrier commission from a few

West Highland White terrier commission from a few months ago. Mostly made of bicycle parts and silverware. Im so proud of this piece 😊

📸: @spencerjharding

#westiegram #terrier #metalart #dog #sculpting #recycledart #metalwork #artwork #scrapmetalart #westieoftheday #metalsculpture #welding #metalartwork #tucsonart

I’m honored to share with you the Collin Fobes m

I’m honored to share with you the Collin Fobes memorial bench and ramada. This commission was very special to me because Collin was a friend. He was someone I deeply admired. He contributed so much to Tucson’s cycling community and was such a genuinely kind person. Collin was also one of the first people to really celebrate my art. He collected a number of my early pieces and his enthusiasm really helped me see myself as a creative person. I don’t think I would have made it this far in my artistic pursuits if it wasn’t for Collin’s early encouragement.
So please join us tomorrow, Tuesday March 22nd from 6:30 to 8ish as we celebrate Collin and dedicate this new public space at @bicastucson . 2001 N 7th Ave, Tucson Az.

#bench #ramada #publicart #publicspace #metalwork #metalart #upcycle #welding #scrapmetal #tucsonart

When Sarah contacted me about making a sculpture f

When Sarah contacted me about making a sculpture for the Ruta Del Jefe bike event I was super excited. This Jaguar will be awarded to the biggest fundraiser rather than the fastest rider which is definitely my vibe. To learn more about the amazing organizations that benefit please checkout the @rutadeljefe Instagram. See y’all in the desert soon!

#jaguar #metalworking #sculpting #metalcat #metalart #welding #wildlife #artwork #bikeart #scrapmetal #migart #recycledart #sculpture #rutadeljefe

Yesterday, after an 8 month battle with kidney dis

Yesterday, after an 8 month battle with kidney disease, we laid my beautiful @franpants to rest. I have never been so bonded to an animal. She taught me how to love in ways I didn’t know were possible. She guided me for nearly 15 years through my darkest moments and my greatest happiness. I can unequivocally say that I would not be who I am and on the path I have chosen if it wasn’t for her. She traveled everywhere with me and we had a beautiful unspoken language of pride, trust, and mutual admiration.
Her last months were turbulent and difficult but her last days were peaceful and beautiful and I will forever be grateful for that.
My heart is broken into a million pieces that will heal in a new beautiful way, she continues to guide me.
I am also deeply relieved that her suffering has ended.
I love you always and forever my beautiful Francis. You will never be forgotten.

This little friend is a commission I worked on for

This little friend is a commission I worked on for months this year. I see it as a huge step forward for me. I’m so proud to be able to share it with you. More pics to come!

📷 @spencerjharding

#metalworking #westie #cairnterrier #terriers #welding #metalart #sculpture #cutlery #akc #artwork #scrapmetalart #upcycle #tucsonart

Hey, Colin here. I was mentioned in a @tucsonweekl

Hey, Colin here. I was mentioned in a @tucsonweekly article about our new art studios. I’m here to let you know that I find that article offensive. The jist of the article is that we’re great because we’re making houseless folks move on and the neighborhood a place that people want to be.
The folks who take refuge at our building are our neighbors, just like anyone else in the neighborhood, they don’t deserve to be treated as nuisances.
I hope it is not the goal of Tucson artists to displace entire segments of the population and gentrify "places that other people don’t want to be" quote from the article. I also want to note that before us, plenty of folks wanted to be at ADC(our studios) as the author mentions and I hope we don't erase their existence for our comfort. Art is culture and love and it should be for everyone. Our goal should be to better anywhere we are, especially for those that this article disparages.
I built a gate that was mentioned in the article in an area that was full of needles and feces. I built it to store some extra materials and as a compromise with artists who felt unsafe because of the hazards. It was intended as a harm reduction solution to mitigate health hazards. If it caused harm, even by inspiring some of the lines in this article, I am deeply sorry and saddened by that. Over the last year I have refused to build anything that would prevent people from spending time in the shade and shelter in front of our building. I would never build anything to make anyone go away, rather I choose to share resources and food and water with everyone who respectfully seeks shelter at ADC and anywhere else for that matter, and I hope others do the same.
I don’t appreciate Tucson Weekly using my name to further this pro gentrification and anti houseless agenda. I live in the area where ADC is located and the issues the studios face are also faced in our neighborhood. I choose to respond to those issues with mutual aid, not disdain for my less privileged neighbors.
I’m sad that this article was spoiled by the author’s agenda instead of simply celebrating beautiful art. Community is not exclusion.
📸: @ultraromance

Hey friends! It’s been several months since I’

Hey friends! It’s been several months since I’ve posted new work on the internet. I’ve been super busy and I’ve made a number of sculptures and functional objects that I’m really proud of, and after a nice break I’m genuinely excited to start sharing them here again. So let’s start where we left off.
This bike shed was a huge logistical accomplishment for me. Working on this scale was a really exciting challenge and I’m so grateful to Ben and Chantelle for the opportunity!
This substantial structure with 13 sculptures decorating it took my amazing partner/assistant @revolta_art and me 3 weeks and around 200 person hours to complete. I’m most proud of the curved roof. The visual impact in person is really cool. Thanks for checking it out ❤️✌🏽🚲
Thanks to @spencerjharding for the beautiful photos I don’t know what I’d do without your help.

STOLEN!!!! Our studios were burglarized last night

STOLEN!!!! Our studios were burglarized last night. I don’t really have words for how frustrating this is. One of these sculptures was on loan from the commissioner. This is weeks of my time and energy just gone. Please let me know if you see these posted for sale anywhere.
✌🏽💔🚲

12 years ago today at 5am this incredible person a

12 years ago today at 5am this incredible person and I were finishing up the most wholesome of first dates. We had ridden bikes around downtown Tucson in the rain and sat for hours on park benches just talking while a slow drizzle kept us sopping wet and laughing.
After a sweet kiss we each found our way home and napped only to meet up again in the evening to ride bikes together.
The spirit of that first evening has carried through to everything we’ve done together. Whimsy and trust. Adventure and companionship. We’ve held each other’s hands through so many rough times and so many beautiful moments and every landscape we’ve been privileged enough to travel through. We’ve ridden like the wind and we’ve sat in the mud.
To know that when I go racing headfirst into my next unknown I can look back and see Monique there ready to show up, ever smiling and ever believing in me means everything.
We are partners in every sense of the word and it’s that simple fact keeps me smiling and forever safe in our love.
I love you @revolta_art, happy anniversary 🖤

This is Western Screech Owl #3 made from silverwar

This is Western Screech Owl #3 made from silverware and bicycle parts.
This little friend likes hunting at dusk, dawn or night. Scorpions are a favorite delicacy. When not nomming down our little friend likes long nests in tree cavities and hooting the night away.

Some detail shots of one of the first projects I c

Some detail shots of one of the first projects I completed after shutting down for most of 2020 because of COVID.
The design mirrors the windows on this beautiful craftsman bungalow.
Thanks Irene and Mike for the really cool commission and thanks @spencerjharding for the always stunning photos!

WE DID IT! We reached our goal and beyond! Yesterd

WE DID IT! We reached our goal and beyond! Yesterday was an incredible outpouring of mutual aide, community, and appreciation. I made the goFundMe for Duncan (@duncan_e_b) live yesterday morning and in a couple hours we had reached our goal, yet folks continued to share and contribute.
It was such a beautiful acknowledgment of someone who normally quietly stands to the side contributing his special kind of creativity and vision through work and example and without bravado or vanity.
Y’all are incredible! It seems appropriate to shut down the goFundMe and say thank you, thank you, thank you! ❤️❤️❤️
📷 @weirdmuscles

Our friend Duncan needs our help. @duncan_e_b has

Our friend Duncan needs our help.
@duncan_e_b has been a patient fountain of knowledge in the cycling community for over 25 years. Alongside his advocacy and organizing he has influenced the way Tucson approaches commuting and touring more than anyone else. He has promoted local artists, makers, and MUSA brands, bringing high quality and meticulously chosen gear and bikes to Tucson.
I’m sure most of you who are reading this have learned something from and had their cycling needs met by Duncan’s calm and dedicated efforts.
Last year Duncan arranged to sell his shop. He had a job lined up but days before everything was finalized the job fell through. The company had been hit hard by COVID and made the tough decision to freeze hiring.
Duncan hit the ground running despite being in a precarious situation. He lined up work as a wrench at a couple shops and started the job search all over again. Finding a new job is never a quick process and unfortunately the prospects have been few because of COVID. The prolonged nature of this search has used up time and his financial resources have run out. Duncan has two very promising leads/interviews coming up soon but hiring processes take time that he doesn’t have financially. Our hope is that one resource that he hasn’t leaned on before is there to be tapped, community.
So it’s time for us to lift up this Tucson icon and share with him some of the generosity he has shown us over the years.
Duncan’s expenses are humbly small and all he needs are the bare essentials for the next few months. Because of this we’re asking for $5660 to get him through this rough patch and pay 4 months of rent, utilities, and groceries after a devastatingly difficult year.
Some of us made it through COVID with more resources than others and the divide between rich and poor has grown greater in huge ways, so now more than ever it’s time for those of us who can uplift our friends to show up and share what we can. Every dollar helps and if you can’t afford to contribute financially, every share helps reach folks who can! Thank you for anything you can contribute! Link in bio.
📷 @bikepackingcom @ronsbikes @ultraromance @whileoutriding @drexlermade

I am so honored to have had the opportunity to mak

I am so honored to have had the opportunity to make this Urn for my friend Deidra. She is such a passionate and strong person and I hope it helps.
It is a mixed bag creating objects related to death, but in my opinion they are such important parts of life that we can’t shy away.
Death is love and joy and it’s devastion and emptiness. Nothing illuminates the depth of a relationship more.
It’s these deep connections that live on and continue to shape us in loss.
In making this I tried to imagine the hurdles I’ve faced in maintaining connection to those that have passed. A big part of those connections is physical so I incorporated a functional swing into this sculptural urn. It’s something of a fidget mechanism that allows physical interaction with the vessel. A tactile connection to what is normally an untouchable object.
I hope it serves as a way to break the stigma of embracing death and acts as a bridge to memories and the unending love that we all carry for those who are gone.
With such tremendous loss over the last year I just wanted to say I love y’all and I hope we all heal and grow and carry on the beautiful parts of everyone we lost.

This gate design is based on one of the most beaut

This gate design is based on one of the most beautiful wooden screen doors that I’ve ever seen. Translating the aesthetics to steel was way harder than I expected but I’m proud of how it turned out.
I made a pair of gates with this design attached to a beautiful mid century ranch style home and oh my do they compliment each other 👌🏽🌹 Thank you so much to Erika and Craig for the commission.

Rolling into 40 like... honestly I don’t know. I

Rolling into 40 like... honestly I don’t know. I simultaneously have no feelings about the number and a lot of feelings about aging. Time is a dimension so just like physical travel if you open yourself up and really learn from it the more you travel through time the better I think. But damn does my ankle hurt this morning and that makes me feel old in a not so positive way. However I’m lucky to spend the day with @revolta_art and Mo most definitely does not make me feel old.
But also can we please free Palestine and Tibet and folks in prisons and give all the folks their land back all over the world do all of the stuff where we actually start taking care of each other instead of harming and killing each other? I’ve been saying that for so long it makes me feel old.
📸 1: @spencerjharding 📸2: @brenduhgayle

Over the last 3 weeks @revolta_art and I have been

Over the last 3 weeks @revolta_art and I have been working on the biggest commission I’ve ever had. I am so grateful to Chantelle and Ben for this opportunity. Almost every step of building this bike storage palace, that I was given free reign to design, has had elements that were new to me. There was a lot of frustration and a lot of really amazing moments when the unknown became the known.
I hope to get some really fantastic photos of the finished product soon but for now y’all will have to settle with me drinking an eegees in 100 degree after finishing my first curved roof design/fabrication. A moment of real accomplishment and joy.
📸: @revolta_art

For years metal work was my side passion, somethin

For years metal work was my side passion, something I tried to squeeze in on top of 50 hour work weeks. I always hoped to get good enough to do it as my full time job.
This is the piece that pushed me over the edge. It was a breakthrough for me and it gave me the confidence to start planning my transition to full time welder/sculptor.
I have always believed in following my heart and I am so grateful for the privilege to do exactly that every day.
Now as I work my booty off in the sweltering heat every day I want to say thanks to everyone who ever praised my creations and everyone who bought one or won one at the bicas art auction, including this piece. Every one of those words and actions were fuel on this fire. Community is everything and without y’all I’d never have been able to, or confident enough to do this.
I hope to continue to mirror the beauty y’all have shown me in every commission and creation for many years to come.
📸: @spencerjharding

It’s this incredible person’s birthday. Every

It’s this incredible person’s birthday. Every year that passes @revolta_art gets more brilliant and beautiful and I find new levels of love and gratitude for being partners with someone so mind bogglingly inspiring.
Mo your tenderness and generosity are beyond compare. I love you so much! Happy birthday 🎁🎊🎈
📷 @whileoutriding

This is Western Screech Owl #2. I am very proud o

This is Western Screech Owl #2.
I am very proud of this sculpture. It came together so smoothly and felt so natural that it really felt like a break through.
Im learning that being a full time artist is a roller coaster and a half. There’s crests of creativity and there’s troughs of self doubt and creative drought.
It’s been a struggle to follow a steady keel and keep faith in myself but this piece made me feel so fulfilled and like I can ride the waves and keep a steady vision and I’m so grateful for that. I hope y’all like it 🖤

Reaching the summit. Sitting in the dirt with frie

Reaching the summit. Sitting in the dirt with friends. Bike leaned to look at it, smiling. Moments of movement and moments of stillness. Gratitude and love.

I am so honored to have had the opportunity to mak

I am so honored to have had the opportunity to make these pieces for Denee. 50+ years ago her grandpa put a finish on this wood and she entrusted me with the task of building some furniture around it. I put a few coats of a super durable polyurethane on the wood and then fabricated the bases to showcase it.
Thanks for trusting me with such a special part of your family history it was truly special! Also thanks to @revolta_art and Gnar for being amazing models ❤️

Roadrunner #6 a commission. Mark and Laura challen

Roadrunner #6 a commission. Mark and Laura challenged me to go a little out of my comfort zone and add the colorful head markings that roadrunners carry. I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. Maybe I’ll incorporate color in more of my pieces...

I am so honored to have made this bouquet for my f

I am so honored to have made this bouquet for my friend Kohl’s wedding. Kohl and Lindsey are getting married and in a butterfly house and can’t bring in outside flowers so I had the pleasure of making this bike parts bouquet for the ceremony. It’s such a cool idea to have a forever bouquet. Thanks for the challenge you two it was really fun to make.

I’m really excited to be on @pathlesspedaled tod

I’m really excited to be on @pathlesspedaled today at 5pm PST, 6pm Tucson time! @sketchytrails and I will be talking to Russ about art and cycling and fun stuff 🖤 Please tune in to the link in my bio!

I am so grateful for the opportunity to make commi

I am so grateful for the opportunity to make commissioned pieces like this for really sweet folks. Thanks @alicialars for trusting me to reproduce your resident western screech owl affectionately known as Friedrich von Judgypants. This is Screech owl 1 of 2 so far and I’m so excited to make more birds of all types and sizes out of cutlery and bicycle parts. 🖤

It’s this intelligent, sneaky, tender, snuggly,

It’s this intelligent, sneaky, tender, snuggly, beautiful little creature’s 14th birthday today. Every year that I get to spend with her is such a special experience. Thanks for being my best little buddy and go everywhere companion for so damn long @franpants I’m so lucky to have adopted you. ❤️
📷 @ultraromance

I can’t articulate properly how lucky I am to ha

I can’t articulate properly how lucky I am to have had the chance to refinish this piece of Koa wood and design and build a new base for it.
This mid century table originally had wooden legs and was horribly damaged by movers. One leg was lost, the other two broken beyond repair, the finish was scratched all the way through, and the sharp edges were dented. I spent many hours with this beautiful piece of wood. Woodworking is not my expertise but I’m really proud of how it turned out. I’m still transfixed by it’s depth and beauty. It was truly an honor to be a part of its history and to be able to work with it.

I’m really excited about how this coat rack turn

I’m really excited about how this coat rack turned out! @stevebohn.velogeek and I have gone back and forth about this for ages and I had a couple previous attempts that I was disappointed with so I scrapped them. It’s made entirely out of bicycle frames and parts and I couldn’t be happier with the tapered ends and general aesthetic. Thanks for commissioning this Steve!

I’m excited to be sending this rainbow trout com

I’m excited to be sending this rainbow trout commission off to some really cool folks today. If you don’t know Russ and Laura from @pathlesspedaled you should! They were some of the first bike tourers I ever met down at BICAS and they were the first folks I ever saw carrying fishing rods on their bikes! Their YouTube channel has absolutely awesome bicycle content so please give it a watch. Link in bio.

“Just like the energy that citizens gave to me w

“Just like the energy that citizens gave to me when I first walked into its basement, 13 years later in my workshop at that same warehouse, I built this rat rod out of love and respect for a bike that changed my life.”

Today in part two of my piece for the @theradavist I write a love letter to a bike that was built at Citizens’s, taught me to mountain bike, and has a very special place in my heart. Please check it out at the link in my bio 🖤
Fantastic Photos by @spencerjharding

For the last 12 years or so I made art and worked

For the last 12 years or so I made art and worked in a very special place called Citizens warehouse. Recently everyone was evicted from citizens so today in part one of a two part article on @theradavist, in my first little bit of published writing, I talk about what that place meant to me, how it changed my life, and the special folks I met there. Including a really cool feature of an amazing human and a project that I had the honor of doing at @tucward1 with that incredible friend @la_lane.
I’m feeling super shy about this but please check it out if you’re interested at the link in my bio.
🖤✌🏽🚲
Amazing photos by @spencerjharding

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Colin Holmes