The Open Road

Hello, friends. I hope time has treated you well, and that you're bug-free. If you're dealing with the coronavirus, I hope that you get well soon. As I have learned from my history at the U of MN with CIDRAP, and with the 3M Personal Safety Division, pandemics and emergencies like COVID19 can be devastating and stressful. We're all on this road of recovery together.

Last year around this time, I made my exit from my wonderful, comfortable job at 3M Safety for strange, previously-unexplored highways. I spoke of my plans to move to California, my #metalmorphosis and exciting adventures I planned in the wake of my Father's death. I had the halo of excitement of a new life and new opportunities, endless enthusiasm and courage to tackle the unknown.

Unfortunately, the unknown tackled me. As I expected, nothing went as planned, but until I jumped onto the tracks of a new life, I couldn't know how chaotic the road would be. Rather than giving you a bio of the last year of my life, I'm going to list the TOP TEN things that happened to me over the last year that are noteworthy, since many friends that didn't continue to follow me or my blog were left hanging with my brave new adventure.

Many don't know that I didn't make the move to California.

Many don't know that my #metalmorphosis was mostly put on hold.

Many don't know that I haven't been on LinkedIn in almost a year. 

Realistically, there is much about me that many don't know.

I've come full circle to back to figuring out what's next in my life and "career". Re-entering reality during a pseudo-apocalypse, even with the skills that I've developed, is a daunting exercise, one that strains every muscle of my mental, emotional and physical being. But a guy has to pay bills, and Art, unfortunately, didn't do it. While many will question my choices over the last year, the reality is that it's been a great year, a productive experience and a powerful reset to my life.

If you're still paying attention to this profile and this person, you have my deepest thanks. I'm not the same person I was when I pushed myself into exodus a year ago - for better and for worse. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? (Blessed be the antibodies!) Here are ten things that made me "stronger" over the last year, and contribute to my present strength.

1. Project Alexandria

Did you know that I own close to 600 pieces of fine art? I started seriously creating and collecting fine art under my Artemis Sere brand in 2011, and since then I've been proudly productive. Unfortunately, I wasn't very thorough in my product information collection over the years, and my stack of art was scattered and lacking important details, such the name of a piece, or when it was created. To make matters worse, the images that I took were mostly for Instagram, and didn't represent a piece well. So, early last year, I undertook the painstaking effort of re-inventorying all that I had and/or created. This effort took hundreds of hours from April to July, but led to an inventory system, high quality imagery and product content that helped me make sense of what I've created over the last decade or so. You can read more about it here, if you're interested. The volume of effort I put into Project Alexandria, the great library of Artemis Sere, wouldn't have been possible with a full-time commitment - or would've taken years to complete with my sole focus outside of work being the project. I certainly learned not to let my discipline be so chaotic, but it also highlighted the need for a catalog or gallery book to track it all.

2. Echoprism

Enter "Echoprism (Volume 1: SS-SG-00001 - SS-SG-00300). Managing digital product information catalogs helped me understand what I needed to do to pull the collection together; publishing books helped me create a vision of how the collection should be represented. Between October 2019 and January 2020, I created the fourth book by my publishing arm Antithesis Press - "Echoprism". This book holds the updated imagery, remixes, product and catalog information for my Serenity Gallery collection. The gallery book would not have been possible without my commitment to Project Alexandria, which provided the content for "Echoprism". With full color and 358 pages of the Art of Artemis Sere, it is the most expansive, vibrant catalog of my Art that I can offer the world, and will work as a baseline for the future legacy of Seretic Studios. Since Project Alexandria allowed me to work ahead, I'm already 50% complete on Volume 2, which holds content around the next 300 pieces of my gallery. With close to a thousand hours devoted to the development of Echoprism 1 & 2, and sales numbering in a dismal handful for the first volume, I recognize that the effort was a labor of love, not one that would stabilize me financially. It was a painful realization, as many have been over the last year.

3. West Coast Exodus/Metalmorphosis Stasis

The last time I connected with my network, I was crowing about my move west. My plan was to head to California in October, acclimate at the end of 2019 and then start welding school in Modesto in January. Lesson learned: understand your path well before you plan to tread upon it. I took a trip west in June 2019 and it was one of the most powerful adventures in my life. The landscape. The spirit of Californians. The freedoms. You can see photos from that trip here. I fell in love with California and parts west. Unfortunately, I didn't love Modesto and the school I chose. After spending some time in California, I realized that the plan I constructed wouldn't work out (especially after getting to my hotel in Modesto and Domino's Pizza declining to deliver to it because it "was in a bad neighborhood"). While the dream of Modesto was mostly dead, the drive to become trained in metalworking was not. I quickly returned to Minnesota with a focus on finding a local solution. I'd been in contact with Dunwoody College of Technology since I started considering the path in 2018. Having worked around 3M Speedglas for almost a decade, I had the passion of a welder in my heart and looked forward to my "Steel Age" of the Artemis Sere brand. I discovered that Dunwoody was one of the first Welding schools in America, with esteemed trainers and sheer lock for a decent job on the other side of the training, as major companies plucked graduates from the school on a consistent basis. The downside of the school was cost: at roughly $80k for a two-year commitment to the program, I took a major risk as there was no way I could pay for the school out of pocket. I jumped in feet-first and immediately registered; I was accepted the week school began in September. For the first time over 20 years, I was a college student again. I started school after classes had started, so I had a bit of catching up to do - both from an educational and financial assistance perspective. Ultimately, due to my previous success with 3M, I was offered very little financial assistance from the Government; Banks also required me to have a cosigner for a student loan without a full-time job. Without any financial options to help me survive as a student, I was forced to withdraw. I now pay a $10,000 student loan for a month of school (due to my participation past the withdraw deadline) with nothing to show for it. While I still hope to return to the welding vocation someday, I discovered that making a life-change in midlife is not as easy as the therapists and experts make it sound. Proof that we pay for experience with our lives…. 

4. Seretic Studios + Seretic Studios Website Rebuild

In April 2019, I registered Seretic Studios as an LLC in the state of Minnesota. The business I founded involved the sale of my art products and services. Between books, paintings, candles, digital experiences, philosophy and blogging, I offer a wide range of content and products to enrich the lives of humans. Seretic Studios was always on the backburner while I worked a 50-hour-a-week Corporate job, and once I was free of the constriction of constant work, I was able to dig into what I created since 2007 (when I founded my Artemis Sere brand). I discovered that I was scattered, undisciplined and inconsistent in my approach. Paintings were only tracked and named on Instagram. Books published previously were fraught with errors. My inventory system was scattershot and filled with gaps. My art world reflected the life of an artist who was trying to juggle too many balls at once. Thus, I focused on cleaning up my art world and digital experience. I rebuilt my Seretic Studios website and decided to make that space the hub of my art experience - one that will someday have a digital experience for each art product that goes from first impression to product sale. I engaged Project Alexandria to fix the errors in my inventory system and create a vast product information database. I built hundreds of gallery pages that will someday connect to DeviantArt for prints, Blurb for my books, and other spaces for my candles. Eventually, it will hold the great library of the Art of Artemis Sere and be a guide for the legacy of my creations. It is a work in progress, much like my website. I taught myself WordPress in 2016 to build and launch a blog for 3M Safety, and have been honing my skill and experience through Seretic Studios since. I've been blogging for almost 15 years between Blogspot and WordPress, and centralizing the content into one experience (and doing it right with SEO in mind) was a massive endeavor. Much love and praise to SiteGround for having an easy backend experience to manage.

5. Artrovert Blogging

I published 15 blogs last year as part of the Artrovert experience. While that doesn't sound like many blogs, it is some of my best content I've ever created. The death of my Father in January 2019 triggered a powerful laser beam of passion that sears to this day. The passing of my Dad and my exit from the Corporate world awoke a voice and creative confidence that had been underserved and untapped for years. Once, I blogged to grow my audience and maintain my brand presence; now, I blog to tell great stories and help humanity evolve. I am unrestrained by previous boundaries and bullshit; I now feel empowered to "tell it like it is", despite what people think about me, the ripple effects of my words and/or how many like or share the content. Gone are the constraints of marketing and content best practices, the shackles of who I should be, instead of who I want to be. I champion causes that I once kept secret. I breathe activism as much as I am able. I stand for something, instead of falling for anything. So far, I've published 10 blogs in 2020, have many unpublished, and many in the hopper. In these troubling times, I'm excited that I've created a stable, subscribe-able platform (ie. SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG!) that can be my outlet and critical mass of creativity.

6. Antithesis Press

Many have heard about the books I publish under my publication banner, Antithesis Press, but few have experienced them. In future years, that will change. In addition to publishing the first volume of "Echoprism" this year, I have also planned out publishing efforts for the next 5-7 years. Many titles that I once promoted and didn't have time for (eg. "The Skeleton Men") have been put on a creative schedule, and I work on many publications incrementally, swallowing each elephant one bite at a time. Next year, I plan to release a ten-year update of my first book "Obscurious", and am working on an update of my second book, "Xenomorphine", for 2023. Here's the full schedule, as I have it planned right now:

2020 - "Echoprism (Volume 2: SS -SG-00301 - SS-SG-600)", "Cacophony: Dissonance of Serenity (Revised)"

2021 - "Obscurious X: Decade of Darkness", "The Skeleton Men"

2022 - "Xenobleed 1: X & Why", "Xenobleed 2: Coagulum"

2023 - "Xenomorphine X: Decade of Addiction", "Xenobleed 3: Shadowheart"

2024 - "The Dire Craft"

2025 - "Cacophony: Serenity Lost"

2026 - "Echoprism (Volume 3: SS-SG-00601 - SS-SG-00900)

7. SereFire Candles

I've been making candles since 2007. It began as an X-mas gift idea and turned into a outlet for my creative talent. In 2015, I solidified my candlemaking output under the SereFire banner. However, I was never able to turn my candle product and services into a moneymaking endeavor. Once a product line that I poured strategy, energy and effort into, my candlemaking pursuits have been relegated to a hobby. Last year, I created around 100 new candles, but my focus on business and other creative pursuits have limited my ability to push candles out into the public for sale. Now, I tend to give them away as "added value" for purchasing my other art products. SereFire Candles now burns dimly as a business, but a passion that allows me to express warmth, hearth and hope in ways that my painting and books cannot. 

8. Social Media Exodus/My Activism

At the peak of the Artemis Sere brand, I had around 50,000 followers, fans or "friends" across the social spaces that I once managed. I began in Social Media with MySpace in 2005 helping to promote a local band named Sound and Fury. I joined Facebook in 2006, Twitter and LinkedIn in 2010, Instagram and Pinterest in 2012. Those small sparks turned into a roaring fire that helped me grow to a social media leader at 3M, expand the boundaries and opportunities for my Artemis Sere brand (even offering me the ability to work on album art for global musicians) and break out of antisocial behavior that brought me down following a divorce in 2001. Social Media was once very therapeutic for me, and audience growth and engagement made me "feel valued as a person". All of that changed in 2016 with the election of Donald Trump and the manipulation of social media that made his election possible. If you're a fan of Donald Trump, you probably won't be a fan of me as I've been anti-Trump since the 90s, still am to this day. His election to the highest office in the U.S. reflected a mirror back on who I was and what I'd become as a marketing and social media expert and professional. I'd used the tactics, metrics and system to become a blowhard like him, to recycle lies like him and to manipulate audiences like him. I had a severe Asthmatic attack days following the election that put on the brink of death and sent me to the ER. The stress of my life came to a head during that period of time, and the internal conflict of who I had become boiled into reality. Now, I am unrepentant with my activism and criticism of our elected officials, corporations and social trends. I attended my first Trump protest in October 2019, and aggressively support activities that will help remove him from office. As election cycles and trends seem to be repeating in 2020, I made the decision to exit much of social media. On March 1, I left Facebook, Instagram, MySpace, Tumblr and Pinterest. Why? Beyond a regular connection to family and close friends, there's little in those spaces that my brand finds value in anymore. For me, social media was never about Chris Zuege; it was about Artemis Sere. Social media and content marketing led to splashy metrics, dangerous groupthink and spotty friendships based on my brand. I now focus my social media energy on Twitter (the battleground for my activism) and DeviantArt (home base for my artwork, a far better experience for an artist than Instagram or Pinterest which allows for direct order of prints), spend more time with my email list and those people who have dedicated their time to appreciating my Seretic Studios experiences (eg. SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG!).

9. Activity + Rest + Stress Management

The tragedy of losing my Father triggered a "see change" in me - I wanted to look into the mirror and appreciate the person I was, physically and emotionally. At the same time as engaging in emotional redevelopment, I began walking daily, hitting the gym regularly and engaging a consistently active lifestyle. Even though my Trek bike was stolen off my car in June, I committed myself to continuous motion. I dropped 30 lbs. in 2019, and while winter and social distancing have managed to put some of the padding back on, I feel in far better shape than I have in my life. On the flip side, I became selfish with my time, energy and activity. I took more naps. I drifted away more often, on water and off. I developed an appreciation for adequate rest and health. I re-prioritized my available time, and to the dismay of many friends, often canceled activities or events in exchange for chill. Some friends understood, and some friends didn't. The ones that did (or have) are still around. Many are not. Hardcore management of my stress has been amazingly helpful, as its allowed me to be more successful and productive with my creative endeavors. We only have so much time and energy; use your clock and tank wisely.

10. Gaming/Grimspell Gaming

Another relaxing outlet that I engaged in 2019 was gaming - roleplaying, tabletop and video gaming. I've been playing Dungeons & Dragons since I was 12, and over the years I lacked the time to devote to engage in regular play. I contend that Dungeons & Dragons pulled me out of my closet as a kid and gave me the confidence to give presentations, lead corporate meetings and run complicated projects and stories. I created a gaming group in 2016 that quickly fell apart due to my overstretched schedule. Over the last year, I pulled together a group of friends that met regularly to play a tabletop game called "Folklore: The Affliction". That small group expanded into a team of gamer friends from all walks of life that want to play games, teach games and promote the importance of gaming for personal development. Grimspell Gaming plans to videocast and podcast games, create content around new and existing games (and other ancillary topics, such as movies and gaming products), and become influential in the industry. The goals are very different than before; it's not about meeting audience and engagement metrics, or replicating the success of gaming powerhouses like Critical Role - it's about human connection and storytelling, what marketing and social media should've been all along. Follow that blog too, if you're interested in gaming!

2020 has been a chaotic year so far, and I hope to offer such a profound list next year. Thanks for being part of my network and being interested in what's going on in my orbit. If you've made it this far down the list, I appreciate your attention and commitment to my content.

Be well, friends.