One’s life can largely be characterized as a game of “connect the dots”, if desired. There are the dots which become marked through experience, as well as those yet to be. The dots; like the millions upon millions of stars that shine in the night sky, may shift form and position based on the viewers perspective at the time. Everybody sees their own life differently compared to anybody else. We can also see our lives (and others) differently depending on new information or events.
From a human’s point of view on Earth, that surely is a rare feat considering we only have a on view of the stars, yet with some effort and intent (ie. traveling through space), it can be remarkable to look back at the shining moments which aided in shaping one’s existence.
All lives have a distinct form, an intrinsic nature to them that may continue on being shaped and guided into sense and meaning. The dots are the people who stand out to us, whether for a moment or continually. The dots are the places on Earth that we hold deep in our hearts. They are the profound ideas that enter into our mind, plus the brief and prolonged experiences that allow us to soak in both the beauty and hardship of the average life.
Patterns exist throughout our universe, at an infinite scale to minuscule. Many of which we may fail to see, simply because they are normal, everyday. It’s quite the task to stand back and look at one’s own life simply as an observer, yet the value of such is grand. Quite like looking at the constellations in the sky, understanding the shapes and how they interact, yet not judging; only creating a picture.
Whether patterns are visual or metaphorical, they all matter. When we take a step back from our daily sleep, work, eat, repeat routine, we’re able to examine the complex equation that is our life. What could be better, what could be worse. What is just right and needs no change at all? See how it all connects. Make it all make sense to better understand how you got here, and where you will venture to from this day forward, and why. We need a “why”! There are clearly more perspectives than we can count, sometimes it’s helpful to have another onlooker. What advice can they give?
With that, it a danger to put all faith into one perspective, for we need them all to see it all. Our lives can certainly be seen as a constellation. Constellations were giving their meanings many centuries ago. Are they accurate? Likely not, yet that helped to make sense of life, and we can do the same today. We may connect the dots that shine bright. And be sure to not forever neglect the dots that are further in the darkness, for they matter too. We have a history we can learn from, but the future isn’t guaranteed, so we must do our best with what we’ve attained so far, and use that to forge on.
So… Connect the dots in life, we’re made of star dust after all.
I’m pretty satisfied with the way this digital graphic turned out. I just added the finishing touches today. I’ve noticed the past couple of months I’ve been making good personal strides as I go along this career path in art. I notice as I go along, I’ll take a variety of techniques learned over the years, more and more combining old and new aspects into single pieces of work… This is part of what makes every artist unique and their own. All subject to different experiences and represent those through our work. It’s what allows us to grow and further us along.
Pull from your past as you push toward your future.
When was much younger, I’d sometimes hear people say “art as a career is very difficult” or you hear about the “starving artist.” Words like this can be discouraging to adolescent ears… They may hear it, make a split judgement and throw out any ideas of pursuing their creativity altogether.
I didn’t start taking art/design/photography seriously until I came back to VT ~2017. I grew a little bit in that time, and made a solid choice to pursue it and see what I could make of this path that I seemed to already be on. It’s something that made me happy, and there is an industry in it, so why not?
Well I pushed myself and made many sacrifices that I felt would help to accelerate this pursuit. The past few years are currently a bit of a blur, basically I got a new roommate in summer of 2018. With him also becoming a more determined artist (specifically jewerly making, so we spent much of our daylight creating. We made an art studio in our living room and made a ton of progress together. He moved to California at the end of the fall, but I’ll always be extremely grateful for the ~18 months we had creating, growing, motivating, living, stressing and surviving.
There are so many individual and one of a kind days in the year. All with their own feelings, tasks, and creations and concerns. There are also so many phases that we go through. Whether it’s mediums of art, people we spend time with and talk to, foods we eat, etc. Life is a series of waves that we ride. They come and go, though some go and are never seen again. We must accept that.
To be honest, I haven’t really stopped since I started. I’ve become set on an intuition where I create a life I want to live; a life of progress, personal growth, and creation. Where I do what feels right, while maintaining a certain balance of creativity, introspection, socializing, and of course adventure. You can go as much into your passions as you want, so long as you balance that out with an extent of relaxation, which can come in several forms and can be different for every individual. For example, you may have a passion that is trying on your mind, so to relax you would take a half hour to meditate, exercise, or both.
With this non-stop lifestyle of course there have been strings of days where I wasn’t quite with it. I’d be discouraged,as I got caught up in frustrations of not making sufficient progress, attaining praise, or what have you (expectations on Instagram were also a factor). During these times I felt uninspired and slept a little too much and watched comedic of motivational YouTube videos from the comfort of my bed. It all helps get through the day. I learned a lot from the challenges, the shortcomings and achievements. There was certainly a long period of time where I took it all too seriously and just needed to give myself a break.
When it came down to it, I was in one place, whereas I wanted to be in another (in a sense that I wanted to be further along in my career). I would actually even search Craigslist for new places to live, or new jobs to take on, in hindsight because I wished to escape the reality that I was in. The thing is, I wasn’t actually taking the physical steps needed to further myself. Sure I was taking tons of photos, having great outdoor adventures and creating based on those. I was throwing my work out into the world in hopes that somebody important would catch it and offer me a grand opportunity. And sure it works this way sometimes. maybe .1% of the time, but with that small fraction, you REALLY have to stand out and create something remarkable. Let alone, the right person has to see it and the odds of this are extremely slim.
So it seems this is what I was basing my success on; that and Instagram stats. Not. Good. I wasn’t definitely putting unnecessary pressure on myself, which is still bound to happen here and there.
Another factor in the mix is coping mechanisms, like alcohol or marijuana. Sure these seem slightly harmless, especially used sparingly, but even for me just one 6 pack a week would get in the way of my goals. It begins with cracking open one beer toward the end of the day, by the last drop of this bottle, of course you want another. But also at this time is where you begin to lessen the ability to be productive. It also can affect the following day. The same with smoking, you gradually become more out of it; groggy but awake without progress being made.
To sum it all up… During this time I worked to take life seriously in such a way that I had to be successful as soon as I could. I wasn’t being patient with myself, but I was also taking part in habits that were inhibiting me from progressing with my goals. It was a time of back and forth, leaving a few jobs to pursue art more seriously, inner turmoil of not being where I wanted to be.
Today is drastically different from this period of my life. I’ve grown a lot as a person, arguably a lot even in the past 2 months. On February 3rd, I was really keen on making strides, progress and change. I wrote on a sticky note:
NO WEED
NO ALCOHOL AT HOME
CLEAR MIND
OFF COMPUTER: 9:30PM
NO CAFFEINE PAST 1PM
GRATITUDE TODAY
GRATIFICATION LATER
The note is still there stuck to my Mac, so I see it everyday. Since I wrote the note, I cut those out completely for 6 weeks. I did some beer product photography so I allowed myself to taste some of the brews. I’ve also had a hard cider here and there (3 total), but since not been buzzed or drunk. I have also smoked a few times, but ultimately this was a decision day. The decision to take accountability for my daily actions for the greater good of my future self. Also, with a shoulder injury that I sustained in November, I begin each day with movement/yoga/mindfulness. I take healthy breaks from my work to decompress, have a nice meal, relax my mind. I am excited to use summer bike rides in this way… A healthy escape that’s good for my well-being.
Lately I am taking it all one day at a time. It’s ultimately most important to live in the present moment and not succumb to unrealistic expectations. Voice your goals to people in your life, as they may have a good suggestion of what you can do to get there. Make a to-do list every night so you’re ready to go the next morning. Create what you like to create, and don’t focus on whether it’s good enough or if people react to it. Some you create will strike invidividuals for a moment and other for a period of time. Don’t dwell, just move and keep creating.
Keep creating. Consider what you can do better for next time. Don’t be too hard on yourself. If you’re drawn toward something or have an idea on how to “connect the dots,” pursue it. Try it out and release any expectation of an outcome. You may see surprisingly good outcomes that will propel you toward where you wish to be. Only by taking action can you see what happens.
And with that, it’s good to have goals to guide you, but remain patient and open among all of this, because you will change, you will make realizations. As you keep going, you will direct yourself, and your projects will direct you. Hold onto your goals and ideals, but don’t skip ahead as they are simply a guide, not a point in time.
There is no time; there’s only you, what you do…how you feel…how you feel unto others.
Feel it out, reel it in. It’s only real, if you begin.
You’ll never get there, for so long as you keep going, you’re already there.
If you read this, please let me know in any which way! I appreciate feedback of any kind. Thanks!
-Aryk
<divclass="fb-post"data-href="https://www.facebook.com/designframeofmind/posts/1922873231191070"data-show-text="true"data-width=""><blockquotecite="https://developers.facebook.com/designframeofmind/posts/1922873231191070"class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"><p>After making a digital illustration in Adobe Illustrator, I find that adding a little extra style in Photoshop makes all...</p>Posted by <ahref="https://www.facebook.com/designframeofmind/">DFOM</a> on <ahref="https://developers.facebook.com/designframeofmind/posts/1922873231191070">Tuesday, May 19, 2020</a></blockquote></div>
Burlington, Vermont is made for good times. There is a music scene, delicious food, a lakefront, Church Street, and much more in between. Relative to the rest of Vermont, the diversity here is abundant. Burlington is like a central hub for the state, so if you come here you’re bound to encounter some degree of adventure and excitement.
A couple months ago while Emerson and I were roaming Church Street, we went into Earthbound Trading Co. to browse. I had my Canon Rebel T4i strapped around my neck, and one of the employees asked what kind of camera I had. Being a photographer, he was interested in meeting others who also had an interest in the hobby. We ended up exchanging Instagram usernames so we could check out each other’s work. I left the store with a deck of impulsively purchased silver playing cards.
Mitch and I by followed each other on Instagram. I sent him a message complimenting his clever username, @lostineggsaisle. It’s one thing just gaining a new follower on this social app, but meeting a person in real life and being able to follow their work has much more meaning to it. For this reason I am glad to have had this encounter.
A few weeks later…
Soon after posting a some photos of the photoshoot with Savannah, I received a message from Mitch saying he’d recently bought his dream camera; a Rolleiflex 2.8E. He was eager to use it and wanted to meet up around Burlington to go shoot. I was down, so he asked if I’d be interested in doing portraits. I had never been the “planned” subject of any photos, but I was willing to give it a try.
Emerson and I had gone to the HigherGround Box Office previously and purchased tickets to a 99.9 the Buzz low-dough show, Welshly Arms, with the band Copilot as an opener. that was happening on a Monday night, so I suggested to Mitch that we meet that afternoon since I planned to be in Burlington that day anyway. So that became the plan, and since Zeth was in town, I invited him to come along on the adventure and to the show as well. Since this was a pretty last minute invite, he had to order his ticket right away. Since Emerson and I already had our tickets, I asked him if he would order two tickets, just in case Mitch wanted to join us for the show. And so he did.
Monday came around and we were to meet at Muddy Waters Café at 3pm. Mitch mentioned through text message that the place was packed, so he’d be waiting outside. We were running a few minutes late; no big deal. To save on time, I called him and told him I’d be driving in front of the café instead of parking in the garage. I saw him on his cell phone, we pulled up in front of the café and to him, having him hop in the car so we could be on our way.
I introduced him to Zeth and we proceeded to cross over Church Street and head toward the waterfront. We made small talk as Mitch gave directions to our planned destination, with said location being an abandoned highway. The on-the-fly directions unexpectedly took us to the rail yard near the Burlington waterfront. Unsurprisingly, I had never actually been to this area before and it happened to stir up some inspiration in my photographic eye. I slowly looped around out of the rail yard so we could continue to the overgrown and forgotten highway. …Though I kept the rail yard in mind.
We made it onto the street that would lead to the abandoned highway, passing through a modest looking residential area with some curbside parking. A bit further down the road, parked behind another Subaru, and the four of us continued on foot. Suddenly, at lower ground level to our right was the dilapidated road with chain link fence on its left side and a high sturdy wooden fence on its right side, blocking the view of the homes behind it.
So began our walk down the old road.
As we were walking along, I thought I wish I’d brought my frisbee. Zeth happened upon a small tire straight from the start, so we began rolling it and kicking it along like the young millennial we are. Over the median and through the air it went, giving us a little extra entertainment along the way. Not quite as good as a frisbee, but it was something.
Photo by Emerson
Photo by Emerson
We had come to a section of road where a makeshift skatepark had been constructed. Two friends were skating together, as well as a lone skater ollieing over a cone. His skateboard rolled toward us when he didn’t land right, so I rolled it back to him respectfully. We kept walking past the skatepark as not to disturb them. Before not too long, we had reached the end of the road, where it met an actual street. This is where I got to see how Mitch’s camera functioned, and it was fascinating to say the least. Being from 1959, this camera was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. Mitch kindly offered to let me try it out. I accepted the offer and he handed it over. Unsure of how to properly handle it, it I was as careful as can be while I held this mint condition relic. To say the least, I was intrigued while looking down through the viewfinder. It was a whole new photographic experience. I was able to take one exposure of Mitch after a long minute of figuring out left and right and dialing in the knobs.
Photo by Emerson
We turned around and headed back the way we came, somehow with the tire still rolling around. The one skater had driven away in his white Subaru Outback as we soon arrived back to the tagged up guardrail that he was skating near. It seemed like a good spot to take photos, so I became the subject as Emerson and Mitch took a several photos each.
Photo by Emerson
I happened upon an old dolly with two missing tires. I had Zeth roll the one tire to me and I secured it to the axle. To our dismay, we could not locate the other tire. Imagine the added entertainment we would have had with a functioning dolly! Emerson was still having fun with my camera and I didn’t mind running around getting my picture taken, considering I’m the one taking pictures 99% of the time. I let her hold onto it for a bit, until I got inspired by a certain section of road. I ran up so she could photograph me on it…
Photo by Emerson
Photo by Emerson
…then I proceeded to take my camera back so I could photograph it!
Can you see what about this road struck my inspiration?
So we continued along, and Zeth moseyed up the rock ledge where the sturdy wooden fence stood, privatizing the residences behind it. Mitch took the opportunity to get a candid of Emerson and I on the ledge, and I took the opportunity to snag a portrait of Emerson leaning on the fence.
I wanted to get a good photo of Mitch using his Rolleiflex, so I asked him to act as if he were taking a photo!
We reached the end of the ledge, the start of the forgotten highway, and walked roadside back to my car as commuters whizzed on by. We were starting to get hungry, so we had to come up with a game plan. After some thought, we decided we would stop at the convenience store to use the restrooms and get snacks to hold us over. I asked Mitch if he’d like to go see Welshly Arms with us and told him we had an extra ticket.He accepted the offer! We would then go check out the rail yard, get ramen at Gaku, then the four of us we go see Welshly Arms. So that’s what we did.
We found free public parking just near the tracks and walked along the tracks gazing at the motionless locomotives, taking photos, and goofing around where we likely shouldn’t have been.
By this point, Zeth had spotted a bridge in the distance that we set as a destination. We heard several distant police sirens, becoming louder and louder. This put us (at least me) slightly on edge, as we were unsure if we were actually allowed to be wandering in this area. The only “No Trespassing” sign we saw was on one building (pictured above).
As we passed over the last of the rails, the sirens dissipated into silence. There was a fence between us and the bridge, so we would have to go underneath and around. As we approached the downhill to underside of the bridge we saw two men; one sitting on the concrete foundation of the bridge, and the other further down with his back facing us. The sitting man yelled inaudibly. We were unsure of what do do. He repeated himself more clearly by warning us, “he’s taking a whiz!”
As he finished up and turned around, we headed down, all greeting each other. We soon learned they were rail-riders, traveling the country far and wide by train. They had seen it all from Vermont to Washington state as well as states further south. Irish and Ogre were their rail names, both of which seemed to fit from what we could observe.
Irish has long red hair, overalls and an engineer’s cap. Ogre is larger with a burly beard, glasses, nose piercings and large gauged ears, with the bent up brim of his hat spelling “WASTED” in yellow and having a total of 13 clips along the edge, which assuming represents 13 years of being a rail-rider, though Irish said they held this lifestyle for 15 years. He must have gotten a two year head start.
Few others get to see the country as travelers like these do. They see all the grit and the forgotten. One can only imagine experiencing the thrill of riding along the land with no control in where you end up. They lived day to day not know what might come next. Irish had a nasty gouge on his hand, describing to us that it happened after an addict in desperation attempted to steal his backpack. Irish had to fend him off and got bitten as a result. Sure this can happen on the heavily traveled streets of America; it can happen anywhere. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong; Murphy’s Law of course.
I wish I knew what was so funny 😛
This isn’t the ideal lifestyle for anyone. Sure it might be enchanting in a way to ride a train along a mountainside while the warm sun rises, with the next destination being unknown. Life can be full of great moments like this but slight risks have to be taken. This is as simple as saying hello someone you don’t know and striking up a conversation; good can come out of it. If it doesn’t, you move on with your life. There is no sense in being hung up on what ifs, if you have the will and ability to make something happen… which you do.
Any life choice will have its risks and uncertain outcomes; excuses not to do it, but a lifetime can’t be fulfilled if these are festered upon. If you believe it is a good thing, focus on the good that will come of it.
The important point is that these men braved the world on their own, learning as they went. They gained immense experience by doing what they felt was necessary at the time. Over these fifteen years, they became experts at riding the rails of America. They met other riders in the process, read up on their notes, learned from their mistakes, and kept on riding.
Irish and Ogre were kind enough to let us take photos. Even though I was pretty focused on the area surrounding us, the light was perfect at this moment in time where it was shining just right. As Ogre slowly took a drag of his cigarette, I casually raised the viewfinder to my eye, let auto-focus do its thing, and pressed the shutter. I was very happy with the result, and after sending it to Ogre a few days later, so was he! I did some selective coloring in Photoshop to add to the drama and feeling of the image.
Irish and Ogre had told us they are done with they rail-riding lifestyle. It has come time for them to assimilate back into society and lead lives apart from the rail. Sure they can reminisce and hold onto their experiences and wisdom, but they have new destinations to reach. They can take this opportunity to become experts at a new craft, be passionate and use what they have learned to contribute to society in ways they’ve never thought before. They can spend the next 15 years becoming experts once again.
As for me, the five year anniversary of owning my Canon Rebel is coming up next week (I checked my order history on Amazon). This will be a milestone for me in this hobby turned passion. Sure I haven’t taken photos every single day. I’ve probably gone a week or so at a time without even picking up my camera. Aside from that, I can still consider this to be 5 years into my craft that I can look back on and see how far I come. Life is a never-ending journey… until it ends.
When you are passionate about something enough where you can grow and learn, it makes the journey that much more meaningful. You live one life on this planet rotating day by day and circling the sun year by year. Why not make the most of it by becoming the best version of yourself? Sure you can have fun and relax, but those should be rewards; not distraction from progress.
In this journey I look forward to continue meeting more like-minded individuals, writing about my impactful experiences, learning from them, and most of all to keep on progressing with my passion. That’s all I know to do; make each day count.
Bring out the Bright
For over a half hour we each talked in this gritty area under the bridge as the sun was lowering in the sky, shining off the iced over water. They told us stories, about their adventures, the prospective plans for the future, joking back and forth and exchanging grins. It was an authentic moment between strangers who both just happened to be under the same bridge at the same time. The thing is, we’re all alike in one way or another, it’s just a matter of finding the similarities.
The sun was beginning to fade out behind the Adirondacks across the lake. We still had to get dinner at Gaku and make it to Higher Ground within 90 minutes. We said our goodbyes and parted ways. When it was all said and done, I’m glad we made it to the bridge and met these soulfully experienced rail riders.
P.S. The Ramen was wonderful and Welshly Arms rocked it!
art.of.a.rock 