Category: Art Stories

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

While Ringelstetter was in Tarpon Springs, Florida on his super tour, he met an eccentric, fun individual named Jay Kafcus. Kafcus loved Ringelstetter’s work and commissioned him to paint a mural at his house because he loved the Forbidden Zone painting. Ringelstetter was booked solid with his upcoming tours, so it was a year later before he was able to make it over to Kafcus’s residence to begin the mural. It would seem that the elements were not on Ringelstetter’s side. It rained for five straight days while he was there and it was the worst weather this section of the country had seen in years, but Ringelstetter pulled through and created a large mural including UFO’s, the Tree of Life, wormholes, portals, Jimmy Hendricks, and Kurt Cobain, just as Cafcus had requested.

Darienne Keniece

While Ringelstetter was working a street show in Gainesville he had a chance run in with a young artist from the area, Kole Trent. Usually Ringelstetter doesn’t like to leave his booth during his shows, but the young artist seemed eager to show what he had been working on, so Ringelstetter followed Trent over to his booth and he was blown away. Trent was only about twenty years old at the time, and Ringelstetter was impressed to see the amount of talent and dedication his new acquaintance had acquired in his short life.

A few years later, during Ringelstetter’s super tour, he found himself in the booth neighboring Trent and they reconnected. Later on, when Ringelstetter went to Cocoa Beach he reached out to Trent and learned that his family had opened a new gallery. The Trent’s offered Ringelstetter a place to work during his next show and asked him to be their first ever guest artist of the month for November. Ringelstetter had been planning to live out of his van, as he usually does on tour, but the Trent’s offered him a room while he was there, making the whole experience a little more relaxing. The time spent there was fun and worthwhile for all involved, as they got to blend together their artist cultures and learn from one another.

Darienne Keniece

If you’ve seen Ringelstetter while he’s traveling then there’s a chance you’ve seen his van too. Knowing that he was going to be on the road for months, Ringelstetter opted to invest in a van, rather than spend money on hotels every single night. The goal was to downsize, and make traveling the country while creating on the road easier. He has said that when he initially purchased this van, he experience a child-like excitement, knowing that he was going to convert it into a mini apartment and use it to pursue his dream. He has no regrets about this decision, as he feels that living on the road and traveling from show to show has been an eye-opening experience.

Darienne Keniece

In the early Ebay days, Johnny Downing, a member of the Viper Club of America found Ringelstetter on Ebay, and after buying a few pieces he reached out for a custom piece, encompassing Downing’s personality and interests, including the Viper Club. Eventually, Ringelstetter got the chance to fly out to Boston to meet Downing and participate in a Viper Run, where members of the club meet up and tour with their Vipers.

But a ride in a sweet car wasn’t all that this venture had to offer. The Viper Club is close with the Orange County Choppers, and Downing coordinated at meet with them for Ringelstetter where he got to hang out with the OCC and tour their shop.

Darienne Keniece