How the Story Starts...

For almost 10 years I had been employed as a graphic designer. I spent the first half of those years in Milwaukee, WI and the second half in San Diego, CA. During that stretch of time, in every place I lived I dedicated a small portion of it to being a studio space. Sometimes it was a spare bedroom. Sometimes it was a garage space. Wherever it was, it was my sanctuary, my place to escape the world. My place to paint. To draw. To write. To create. And while it was graphic design that was paying the bills, my passions were rooted within the world of fine arts, and so I plugged away working in my free time towards one day getting the chance to make my artwork my livelihood. Within this blog is the continuation of that journey.

In December of 2007 I met an amazing woman, my girlfriend, Annie Ory. Among her many talents Annie is Bikram Yoga Instructor, and before we had ever met she had been planning on opening a Yoga Studio in another country. In January of 2008, two months into our relationship, she asked me what I thought about the idea of leaving everything behind, moving abroad with her and opening a Bikram Yoga Studio and an Art Studio, places where we could each pursue our passions. Without hesitation, I told her to count me in.

We pulled out a world map and starting doing some research to try and find a country to go to, one that would be receptive to her yoga and one that had a vibrant art scene. We came up with Buenos Aires, Argentina. In March we took a 10 day trip to scout it out and afterwards returned home knowing we had found our place.

Near the end of May, after two months of planning, we quit our jobs, sold our cars, sent whatever belongings we deemed worthy of keeping on a cargo ship bound for South America. Then with 4 suitcases and my guitar, we embarked on a 44 day roadtrip across the United States. (Check out that trip here.) Our last full day in the States was July 4th, 2008 in Washington DC. After a holiday of parades, fireworks and steamy summer sun, we boarded a one-way red-eye flight and arrived here in Buenos Aires on Saturday, July 6th, right in the middle of the Argentine winter.

People ask me how long we're staying here. I tell them indefinitely. Maybe 2 years. Maybe 5. Maybe forever. Who knows. I try not to plan to far ahead because life is a delicate and fleeting thing. I like to think of our time here the same way I've thought about other things in life, and that is that we're just going with the flow, seeing where life will take us. One day at a time. Wearing a smile as often as possible. And enjoying the ride.