www.reneeruin.com: Who's that Girl?

Age:

Secret! (But I'm sure you already guessed I'm in my 20s)

Ethnicity:

A lot of German, a lot of French, a lot of white girl.

Currently live:

Between Portland, Oregon and a few yards from the beach in the Monterey Bay.

Day job (what pays the bills):

Full time, self employed, well fed artist (model/actress/artist/filmmaker/jewelry designer).

Hobbies:

Watching movies, reading comic books, watching newly discovered deep sea creature videos on YouTube, staring at photos of cathedrals on tumblr.

Aspirations:

I want to make art and films that challenge/inspire the way people think and live.

Photo by Christine Shields

Single/Taken:

Happily captured.

Education/Study:

Self taught. I had a brief stint with college, but we broke up.

What was growing up like for you?

Like a lot kids, I had an unfortunate hand dealt to me concerning family situations, but it could have been a lot worse. I'm glad for how I grew up. If it had been any different I may not be filling out this questionnaire! But overall I do cherish a lot of great memories from when I was growing up. Most everything I do now first started to blossom when I was 8.

Do you see yourself as Model?

Not exactly. Modeling is one of the many things I still do, but it started out as a stepping stone for bigger things. I guess now I would call myself a person THAT models, not A model.

When did you become involved in modelling and what do you love about it?

I kind of fell into it. Once I was out of high school I was desperate for something creative to sweep me off my feet and take me on an adventure. I loathed the idea of college and other conventional ways of living. So when someone approached me in a mall one day and asked me if I had ever considered a career in modeling, I thought to myself; “Well, no. It seems like a silly career to have, doesn’t it?” Despite not quite understanding modeling, I tried it out. I didn't get along with well with the agency that scouted me, so I began collaborating with a few Portland local photographers to get started. It eventually started picking itself up, so now here I am, years later, still doing it. I love the people I met and the opportunities I came across while doing it.

Brittney McChristy Photography

What would you like to do more of in the future?

I would definitely like to get more into narrative film making and being on set more. I love making art and fashion films, but I get bored with them and crave doing ambitious things on a larger scale.

What do you admire in other women?

I admire women who do great things kind of by accident. As in, they don't go into something expecting recognition or fame. They go into situations expecting to face adversity and only hope for change. I especially admire women who never take into account that they're a woman - they just do what they do without their gender being a definitive factor. I've been admiring Sister Dorothy Stang a lot lately for those reasons.

Who is Cassie?

I'm not sure. I don't think I'll have a clue until I'm an old woman and I don't have anything to do anymore. I'm constantly changing depending on what I do, who I meet, and what I learn.

What's a little known fact about you?

I'm pretty high strung. Most of the time I'm pretty silly and timid. But I'm a bit obsessive and quite the perfectionist. Sometimes it's torture - I have a difficult time not being hard on myself.

Martine Pinnel Photography

Where do you draw inspiration from?

Almost everything I do concerning art and film started by first being inspired by something to do with Christianity. Right now I'm inspired a lot by iconography and The Book of Revelation.

How would you describe your style?

I would describe my style as... that all black all the time but not quite goth girl that frightens elderly people at the grocery store. Otherwise I'm not really sure if there's a specific name for the way I dress.

Are you a fashion brands girl or do you just wear what you like or whats
comfortable?

Usually I'm into what's comfortable and I don't care if something is from Target, but I do have a hard time turning down All Saints and DEMOBAZA pieces.

What are your top 5 fashion staples you cannot live without?

Big boots, weird black leggings, leather jacket, tights, anything frilly black, and flawy.

Porcelain Poet Photography

Favourite places to shop?

eBay always, DEMOBAZA, and All Saints.

Who would you say is your style icon?

Probably Vampira or the Carolyn Jones Morticia Addams. I'm very drawn to the weird, effortless, head-turning glamour dripping from them.

Tales of love & lust?

One time I found a caterpillar in my mom's backyard. I grew very attached to it after a few days. I put him on a swing with me one day, but he shortly after I started swinging he flung off my lap into the grass and I never saw him again. I was devastated for a very long time.

What is it that you love most about being a woman?

I like that I have a great excuse to take a week off every month.

Photo by Jeff Shanes

What do you find sexy?

Intelligence and determination.

Is there anything you would change about yourself if you could?

If we're talking about physical things, I'm getting my tonsils removed and my bat eyes fixed as soon as I'm rich. Otherwise, I would just like to be more focused on the right things and not feel that I have to beat myself to a pulp every time I fail.

When no one is around what is Cassie usually doing?

Watching Alien and/or drawing pretty girls.

Is there a public and private Cassie?

Definitely. It takes me a long time to warm up to people. There's not a HUGE difference between public me and private me, but I am definitely pretty shy and can get pretty outrageously silly around the right people. There's also a super intense professional Cassie that wears pant suits and will tell a stranger to go to hell if she has to - but she doesn't happen very often.