Today we’d like to introduce you to Santi Ruggeri
Santi, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
The story of my life is still being written!
The last time we spoke, I was undergoing the process of renovating an old camper van from 1992. As of August 2024, I am happy to say that camper van, called The Goobsmobile, was finally completed! I moved into the van last September and have been driving all around ever since.
Starting from good ‘ol Ocean City, MD, I booked it straight to Grand Tetons, WY to do some backpacking! From there, I pushed on north up through Missoula and Glacier in Montana. After a lot of huckleberry pies, I spent a night in the panhandle of Idaho before finding myself all the way west in Washington state! I officially got coast-to-coast in just two weeks on the road.
The rest of this trip had me going through Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Texas, and then finally through both of the Carolinas before making it back to Baltimore for the holidays! I came out of this trip with lifelong memories and a killer tan by Winter standards.
But going into this trip, I thought heavily and often about the type of person I wanted to be. I had to ask myself hard questions such as, “What makes me happy? What do I want in life? How do I get there? Also what’s for breakfast?”.
These questions helped me to develop the goals of being a better artist, a better photographer, a better writer, a better brother, a better friend, a better stranger, and a better lover. I believe that I will always work towards these goals in one sense, but a strange series of left turns and right turns led me to achieving them in another sense 🙂
This period of my life is about me betting on myself! I want to publish my work in a magazine, to write a book, to take 1000 photos, and to create endlessly and intentionally. I think I’ll get there in one way or another, but as for now, I’m just along for the ride.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There’s a road near Redwoods National Park that you take to get to a place called Fern Canyon. The canyon itself is absolutely magnificent. The trail that goes through the canyon follows a river that flows in the middle of the two towering canyon walls, which are adorned with ferns as far as the eye can see. Plus, right by the trailhead there’s a separate pathway that leads to Gold Bluffs Beach which itself is both serene and dramatic.
The road to get there is a bit of a nightmare, at least for a clunky, funky, old van. For about half of it, you drive through a super narrow winding forest road that changes grades as fast as a spiteful teacher. This is the easy half.
The other half has you driving down the most pothole-filled road you’ve ever seen in your life. The Mariana Trench doesn’t hold a candle to these potholes. On top of that, there are also several stream crossings. One stream crossing is a bit of fun, it gets your adrenaline pumping. But several stream crossings! Several!! My heart nearly came out of my chest.
Also, this road has no outlet, so you have to go back the way you came once you’re done frolicking amongst the ferns.
All of this is to say that my road has not been smooth at all, it’s been like the road that goes to Fern Canyon.
I think the biggest struggle in this phase of my life has been defining the path to take. Unlike the road to Fern Canyon, no signs are telling me which way to go and which way to not. It’s been up to me to decide when to go left and when to go right. I certainly have ideas about where my path may lead, but it’s going to take a lot of work to get there! It’s a road that will have to be built brick by brick (this is my last “road” metaphor).
I do believe that I will ultimately get to my Fern Canyon.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m an artist, a photographer, an illustrator, a writer, a seamster, a whittler, an animator, a cinematographer, a dancer, a backpacker, and a professional goofy goober. I do feel a bit like a jack of all trades, master of none (except at being a goofy goober).
That said, I have been honing in specifically on my illustration, my photography, and my writing. Of all my creative endeavors, I feel most passionate about these!
Part of what makes my work mine is that there is an inherent lightheartedness to it. My illustration, my photos, my writing all end up being a bit goofy because that’s who I am 🙂
With my illustration, I create wacky and goofy characters that I call “goobs”. I then place these characters into illustrated works that I call “Scenes of a Goob”. I primarily illustrate with watercolor, but this year is all about exploration across different mediums!
As for my photography, I shoot primarily in 35 mm and 120 film! I love to capture abstract landscapes that feel familiar yet distinctly unusual, as well as intimate scenes with friends or strangers. I took a lot of photos during my travels that I’m incredibly fond of, and I hope to take a lot more this year.
Finally, my writing is the area that I hope to work on the most this upcoming year. A couple of years ago I wrote and illustrated a children’s book named The Bizarre Bazaar. I think that was a great stepping stone for me to get to the next level of prose, but as I said I want to continue to improve! Earlier this year, I walked 600+ miles on the Camino de Santiago and got into the habit of writing haiku, which was an absolute blast.
I hope to take on projects that combine my illustration, photography, and writing into one funnily shaped package. I HIGHLY recommend checking out my portfolio on santiruggeri.com if you’re looking for a good time.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
It may be that it’s still too early in my journey for luck to have played a significant role. I am of the belief that “you make your own luck” by taking your experience and using it to get yourself to the right place and time. I only hope that when it does strike, it does end up being good luck!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://santiruggeri.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doodle.goobs/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@doodlegoobs
