Ringelstetter left on his 2018 art tour one week after finishing the “Forbidden Zone” project. The plan was to live on the road for ten months and participate in thirty-six street art shows. The goal was to see how far Ringelstetter could push himself; mind, body, and spirit because he wanted to know what it would be like.
This tour proved to be the most difficult task Ringelstetter has ever signed himself up for. It was as though something in the stars was conspiring to make everything much harder than it needed to be. From the weather to the venues, there was a hitch in every step.
While this tour was downright treacherous in some aspects, it did have its positives. For a portion of the Florida tour, Ringelstetter rented out a living space in the Monster Factory. As it turns out, he was their last “rent-ee”, but it is one of his favorite places in the world. Vince Pompei, owner of the factory, became a fast favorite of Ringelstetter’s, as he views him as “innovative”, “minimalistic”, and the “Einstein of our time”. After living there for four months, Ringelstetter found it easy to see why Pompei liked it there. The park nearby was a chaotic place as it was a bit of a hotspot for drug culture. There was always something going down there, so the entertainment never quit.
Another of Ringelstetter’s favorite places throughout this tour was Littleton, Colorado. It seems that the romance of art shows is dying across the country, but Littleton caters to its artists in a way that makes them feel like the rock stars that they are, creating a fun and enthralling experience for all. Ringelstetter flew his dad and his brother (from separate states) down to enjoy the show with him, and as always he was reminded of the peace that family can bring to you during trying times.
Ringelstetter put on twenty nine thousand, eight hundred and sixty five miles for this tour and he has dubbed it “The Year of Survival” because it was a constant test to see if he could pull together the funds to make it to the next stop. While this tour was more work than it was worth, Ringelstetter is still happy he signed up for as many stops as he did because otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to get by. This tour brought a mixture of emotions and constant challenges, but despite the external factors Ringelstetter continued his mission and realized the lengths he would go to in order to follow his passion.
Darienne Keniece