You’re an art major

Photo: Maia Harms

1. Epiphone 2 guitar, $250 at Midwest Buy & Sell
2. Fender Squire Champ amp, $40 at Midwest Buy & Sell

Stocking your studio

Looking for cheap supplies? No problem. Genesis Art Supply (2417 N Western Ave, 773-292-2990) has prestretched canvases that are always half-price. And Lake View Art Supply (3359 N Lincoln Ave, 773-296-6696) makes DIY framing inexpensive with a wide range of cheap (but not cheap-looking) prefab metal or wood frames. If the staff’s not busy, it’ll custom-cut your mat while you wait.

Rockers trek almost all the way to Norridge to browse Midwest Buy & Sell (6019 W Irving Park Rd, 773-545-2020). It’s a no-frills joint, packed with used guitars and amps, with a no-B.S. staff. Even better: If you’re tired of your old bass, they’re willing to swap.

Feeding your muse

As an artist of whatever stripe, part of your job is to read, watch, hear and generally consume other art. Yes, you can do it without giving up dinner the next day. For starters, hit your local branch of the Chicago Public Library and ask the folks at the circulation desk about the museum passes. You check them out just like a book (though the loan period is only one week) to gain free admission to one of 13 different institutions. It’s hard to score one of the biggies, like any of the Museum Campus trio, so visit a place you’ve never gone before.

Films don’t come much cheaper than the $3 admission at the second-run Logan Cinema (2646 N Milwaukee Ave, 773-252-0628). You’ll have to check your bag behind the counter—but with a bargain this good, you can afford to buy the popcorn, cheapo. The $5 price at the University of Chicago’s Doc Films (1212 E 59th St, 773-702-8574) is sweet, too, and the eclectic, ever-changing calendar always has something of interest, from David Cronenberg’s latest to obscure art-film classics.

If you’re willing to give a little of your time, you can get a lot. Chicago’s bustling theater community always needs volunteer ushers (which allows you to see the show for free), mostly coordinated by The Saints (773-529-5510), a nonprofit organization that supports area performing-arts companies; annual membership costs $65. A few theaters, such as Steppenwolf, also work with non-Saint volunteers.

Wanna catch dance and performance art? Quirky Links Hall (3435 N Sheffield Ave, 773-281-0824) exchanges volunteer time for free seats. Up in Rogers Park, Mess Hall (6932 N Glenwood Ave), a self-described “experimental culture center” run entirely by volunteers, provides many free resources—art exhibits, video screenings, workshops and even gratis clothes in a bin.

Spreading the health

The hustle and flow of an artistic career is part of the fun, but when it comes to the lack of health-care benefits, it’s hard out here for a freelancer. Happily, you’ve got options beyond triage care at Stroger Hospital. Access Community Health Network (866-882-2237) encompasses about 200 providers in 50 health centers in the city and suburbs. What you pay is on a sliding scale; if your income ranges between $19,601 and $24,500, for example, you’d pay $65 for a doctor’s visit. Access spokeswoman Elaine Hegwood Bowen also points out, “No one is turned away if they can’t pay the money at time of services.”

At Chicago-area Planned Parenthood clinics, most patients are women seeking gynecological care—“oftentimes women who are self-employed who just want to make sure they’re staying healthy,” says spokeswoman Sara Knaub. Men can visit, with their partners or alone, to receive STD testing and/or treatment. The largest city facility is its Near North health center (1200 N LaSalle St, 312-266-1033), which, like most area PP centers, employs a flat-rate fee scale for adults: $121 for a Pap smear, $84 for STD testing (syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and HIV).

If you do have insurance—probably with huge deductibles—save money by opening a health savings account: Any paychecks you deposit here won’t be subject to income tax, but you must spend the money on health care. Unlike some employer-based flex-spending plans, there’s no time limit to spend the money. At Bridgeview Bank (800-794-2070), deposits of $1,000 or more even earn tax-free interest.

Affordable dental care is tricky. (One Chicago artist we know went to Mexico earlier this month for a cheap root canal.) The best local option is the College of Dentistry of the University of Illinois at Chicago (801 S Paulina St, 312-996-7555), where supervised dental students begin their careers. An initial exam with X-rays costs $40. If you’ve got a sudden killer toothache, urgent-care appointments are available on weekdays.

Costco (2746 N Clybourn Ave, 773-360-2051) offers inexpensive eye care—exams start at $44—but to purchase contacts or glasses after your checkup, you must first join the club: A one-year membership, which covers two people, costs $50. We needed new contacts recently and found Costco’s prices cheaper—by several dollars per box—than any other store, including online. But for glasses, California-based online retailer Zenni Optical offers incredible bargains. Some frame selections are surprisingly stylin’, and you can’t beat the price (as cheap as $8, plus a flat $4.95 for shipping, for glasses with lenses made to your prescription).

Everyone says art can be excellent therapy, but you can’t always do it alone. In case you need professional help with your mental-health, call Cathedral Counseling Center (50 E Washington St, 312-252-9500). The scale slides as low as $40 for one-on-one, or $30 for group therapy; most sessions take place downtown, though Cathedral operates satellite offices in Hyde Park and Evanston. Despite the churchy name, it’s an independent, nonsectarian agency; its licensed counselors and social workers all have at least ten years of post-master’s experience.

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