Always Darkest Before the Dawn

When 2021 began Ringelstetter, like many others, hoped it would mark the end of a terrible year. The pandemic had an effect on more than just the health of our country, as many know, it also greatly changed our economy especially for small business owners. The debt accumulated to keep Atomic7 going was becoming crippling, but Ringelstetter was hopeful for a turnaround in 2021. He made it through about half of the year before things started to go sideways again.

By the time he and co-artist Jared Breyfogle made it down to Florida for the start of their winter tour they knew their fate was on the line. They were high in hopes but once the shows started up they could see that things weren’t going to go as expected.

There were a lot of hiccups with the show coordinations. All six of the shows Breyfogle was scheduled for were either falsely promoted or the addresses were given incorrectly, making for a cranky crowd of attendees. Most of them didn’t take to Breyfogle’s work which added a lot of mental stress to both artists, leaving them both questioning their efforts.

However, as the first leg of their tour was focused on Breyfogle’s work, this gave Ringelstetter the opportunity to get out of the booth and explore the shows, which he had never been able to do in the past. He was able to see what other artists were doing and more importantly, to see what was working for them. It became clear that the market was calling for bigger pieces than what they had available so by the third show they revamped Breyfogle’s entire booth and instantly changed his feedback ratings from 95% negative to a solid 95% positive.

This experience has caused them to grow professionally and it has given them a new mindset. They’re ready for the second leg of their tour and they have their living situation covered for the next three months but the pressure is on. If they don’t succeed the studio will likely go bankrupt and they may have to trade in their paint brushes for factory gloves. This particular blog is important to Ringelstetter because he wants people to understand why he’s completely dropped off the map. In the last few months he’s had to completely restructure his belief system about the world of art and he and Breyfoggle have had to adapt to survive. They’re living in survival mode right now but they’re still learning to grow. Every day there is a new opportunity in Florida and they have high hopes of making something happen soon. They have their sights set ahead and they’re doing their best to put their doubts and worries out of their minds, staying focused on their missions and trusting in their talents.

Darienne Keniece