Author: Nick Ringelstetter

A friend of Ringelstetter’s since the sixth grade, Jake Leek came to Atomic7 seeking a new venture after deciding that he was in need of a change. Ringelstetter happily welcomed him aboard and together they worked on the prints, frames, and canvas stretching. During this time, Ringelstetter expressed an interest in screen- printing, but went on to say that he didn’t really have the time for it.

They began discussing this in greater depth and soon Ringelstetter learned that Leek had been teaching himself the ins and outs of screen-printing. It wasn’t long before he launched his own company, Sicks Printing. Ringelstetter found this inspiring and is still so grateful for the time Leek spent with Atomic 7, and the work they’re able to do together with Leek’s new business.

Darienne Keniece

In Ringelstetter’s experience the Ann Arbor Art Show can be a fierce entity all on its own. This show spans four days and accepts 1,200 artists, making for a lot of competition. However, in 2019 the Ann Arbor show proved itself to be an untamable beast when a wild storm hit hours before its projected arrival time, causing chaos amongst the artists when they and all of the patrons received a jarring weather warning on their phones, instructing everyone to evacuate the area and seek shelter
within the following 15 minutes.

Ringelstetter adhered the advisory and began packing up his booth as quickly as he could manage. When he was finished he rushed through the show and helped everyone he could, but the storm hit quickly. 60 mile and hour winds caused the unsecured tents to fly away. Ringelstetter began filming the events because he wanted to show what artists go through while trying to pursue their dreams. He had no idea that the video would go viral.

Thanks to his iconic pink hair, Ringelstetter was recognized from the video frequently, and went on to make new friends because of it, giving the traumatic events a positive outcome.

Darienne Keniece

One of the first themes for the famous crates Ringelstetter uses to tote his work around was inspired by one of his first paintings, the Space Hitchhiker. The Space Hitchhiker was about an alien that bounced around from universe to universe to help the civilizations grow for the better before moving on to the next one.

A secondary inspiration for the crates was introduced to Ringelstetter while he was in Cedar Key, Florida. Many of the structures had been repainted countless times due to the weather, giving the area a “thrashy” and vibrate feel.

The idea for creating the crates was, like most ideas, born from a need. As a traveling artist, Ringelstetter needed to be able to fit a whole gallery’s worth of work in his van without wasting any space. Initially, he had been buying cardboard boxes, but found that to be a waste since they didn’t hold up for very long. He switched to large, plastic totes, but found that they looked tacky and didn’t benefit his booth.

He and another artist from Atomic7 decided to hand-make the crates that Ringelstetter uses now. This is the fourth model and they’re the best ones yet. He’s able to fit two shows worth of work in the van because of them, and they have multiple uses. Aside from easy transport, they can also be stacked to make a table or shelves. The lids are carpeted so Ringelstetter can stretch canvas on them, and he can assemble prints at a show with them.

In a lot of the shows Ringelstetter participates in, artists are graded on how their booths are set up and because of these crates, Ringelstetter has won a handful of awards for his sophisticated but high energy and unique style.

Darienne Keniece

The first year Ringelstetter received his first ever National Award he went on to receive two more shortly after, but the first one was a life altering moment for him. When the awards were being announced, Ringelstetter was so focused on the customers in his booth he didn’t hear his name being called. It wasn’t until a woman on the board approached him in his booth and congratulated him that he realized what had happened. Ringelstetter was so blown away that he couldn’t keep his mind on what she was saying, and had to have his father chase her down after she left so that she could reiterate the specifics.

As it turns out, Ringelstetter had placed so high in his category that he beat out other top placers in different categories, which led to him receiving an invitational award to return to Art Fair on the Square in Madison, Wisconsin. Out of 450 artists, Ringelstetter placed 13 th , and still feels that this was the moment that he truly transcended from his comfort zone and became the juggernaut that we know today.

Darienne Keniece

Jared Breyfogle was Atomic7’s first employee, and his history with Ringelstetter dates all the way back to the schoolyard. These two outcasts found each other and had an instantaneous bond. Life called Breyfogle out of state, but a few years later he returned to Wisconsin and Ringelstetter offered him a job assisting with the printing of his artwork and the composition of the frames. Once winter hit and Atomic7 slowed down, Breyfogle went on to pursue his own art career under the brand Just Buzzin.

Darienne Keniece

As a touring artist, Ringelstetter has gotten to participate in many different kinds of shows, and just as anyone would, he’s grown to dislike some more than others. One of his biggest pet peeves is shows that only allow you to display and sell all original artwork, no prints allowed. Ringelstetter feels that this doesn’t mix well with his mission here, as he wants to inspire and create affordable art for the people. Ringelstetter believes there is a time and place for shows like this, and he doesn’t feel that they fit well into the street art community. He has said from experience that “people don’t usually go to street shows to purchase pricey originals, a lot of them are just here for a fun outing, and they want to find something they like that’s affordable so they can take it home for the memories.”

Darienne Keniece

In 2015 Ringelstetter was contacted by an old friend who found the inspiration to turn her career towards art because of an article he had written in 2009. She informed him that Mini Cooper was sponsoring Madison On the Square, and they were looking for artists to paint on a Mini Cooper car, live for the show goers, and she had suggested Ringelstetter. He was thrilled because he knew accepting this opportunity meant that he was automatically accepted in the show and he’d get to help five other artists deface a vehicle with incredible artwork. Ringelstetter let everyone else choose their spots first and he took what was left; the back bumper of the vehicle. He walked away happy to be involved and satisfied with his work.

The following year, the sponsors called him, and only him to come back and paint a whole car by himself. In the third year, Ringelstetter was given the opportunity to really customize the project by choosing which vehicle he wanted to work on. Unfortunately, the fourth year Mini Cooper pulled out of the event and hasn’t been back since, but this is still one of the most thrilling projects Ringelstetter has gotten to be apart of.

Darienne Keniece

When Ringelstetter decided to trade in the Green Bay, Wisconsin show for the Littleton, Colorado show he had no idea what was in store. He set out on the road with his brother and a friend in his brand new Ford Explorer Sport with a U- Haul trailer on the back. They were on highway 80, outside of Ogallala, Nebraska and the rain had just quit when they crossed a bridge that would derail their expedition.

As the tires hit the bridge near mile marker 139, the vehicle shook and Ringelstetter found himself feeling lighter. He looked in his rearview mirror to discover that his trailer was drifting away from him, but it couldn’t go too far thanks to the chains. Time around Ringelstetter slowed down as he braced himself for the impact. The tongue of the trailer struck the bumper of the Ford and tugged the vehicle to the right, then back to the left, and struck once more into the back of the vehicle, sending it and its passengers sliding down the interstate sideways, in both lanes of traffic.

Ringelstetter spent a large portion of his life on ATVs, and drifting was something that he used to do for fun, thankfully, because the skills he developed in the old days may have been the only thing that stopped them from a serious wreck. Ringelstetter kept his cool and managed to swing the trailer back into its place before bringing it and the vehicle to a safe stop on the side of the road.

In shock, Ringelstetter sat quietly until he realized one of his passengers was cleaning off the dashboard. The juice that he had just opened was everywhere, and in his hand was an empty bottle. With a deep breath Ringelstetter pulled himself together and called the authorities. In time, the tow truck arrived, and after speaking with the U-Haul company, Ringelstetter headed towards Ogallala, Nebraska to meet the driver with the trailer that held all of his art.

After getting the bare necessities needed to fix his vehicle, he and his comrades waited for the tow driver, patiently at first, until too much time had passed. Ringelstetter called the driver and discovered that somehow, wires had gotten crossed, and the driver was now an hour away, in the wrong town, with all of Ringelstetter’s work. As it was the driver’s last call of the day, the only option was to drive an hour back in the opposite direction to retrieve his work.

Once there, Ringelstetter set to work on straightening out his vehicle so that it could once again pull the trailer, and the last thing he did was check on his work, out of fear that it was damaged. However, he was thrilled to find that everything appeared to be unfazed when he opened the door. At this point, Ringelstetter was unstoppable. He drove the remaining four hours to Littleton and proceeded to have a magical show.

Darienne Keniece

While Ringelstetter was working at the Trent Art Gallery he learned of a project the Trent’s were planning called “The Trent Art Gallery School Takeover”. Before Ringelstetter headed back to Wisconsin for the holidays, he decided to tag along with the Trents to check out the Wellington Middle School. When they arrived, Ringelstetter was disheartened to find that the school looked not unlike a prison, white-walled and devoid of creativity.

Knowing it was for the kids, Ringelstetter couldn’t help himself from getting involved. He offered to paint his own work on some of the structures in the school free of charge. Ringelstetter traveled back home to see his family for the holidays, and one day later returned to Florida to be involved in the school takeover. There were a lot of hurdles in the beginning of the project, but after they figured out the best way to vent the building of the spray paint fumes, Ringelstetter painted for hours, stopping only to chat with the kids.

Darienne Keniece

Towards the end of Ringelstetter’s first Florida tour he found himself burnt out on driving, as he had been traveling back and forth between Florida and Wisconsin. He decided to forgo his upcoming Vegas show and applied for a different show in Omaha, Nebraska since the drive time was much shorter. While he was there, a group of leather clad individuals stopped by his booth to check out his work and chat. Once the show was over, Ringelstetter packed up and headed back home. It wasn’t until the following Monday that he realized the significance of the group when he received an email from Nita Strauss’s manager.

He explained that Strauss was the guitarist for Alice Cooper’s band, and that she loved Ringelstetter’s work when they visited his booth before their show in Omaha. Her manager also explained that Strauss had a big campaign called “Ego Kills Talent” and that she was looking for a piece to have around her while she was signing merchandise from the campaign. They commissioned Ringelstetter to do a custom piece for this purpose.

The timing was rough since Ringelstetter was touring and wasn’t able to get in much studio time, but a year later he sent over the finished piece, which was three-dimensional and holographic, much like the Forbidden Zone piece.

Darienne Keniece