In spring 2007, a trio of artists made their way into Pottsville on foot.
The men were nearing the end of their 4,000-mile walk across the country to encourage self-expression, spark creativity and build a network of artists for sharing work.
For Kevin Smith II, it was a life-changing experience that ultimately led him to plant his roots in Tamaqua and be part of a growing arts scene.
“This was an idea I had a long time ago when I was a kid, as far as trying to walk across the country. I was working construction and I was, like, walking in circles eight hours a day carrying 2-by-4s,” Smith, 37, said. “I got those thoughts in your head like, ‘If I were to walk in one direction for eight hours I wonder how long it would take.’ ”
The answer was about a year — at the end of which Smith interpreted his journey through seven acrylic paintings representing sections of the trek. The Tamaqua Community Arts Center hosted a meet and greet event in March featuring Smith and his work — specifically the paintings from the walk.
Chakra scenario
The paintings hung on a metal display, popping off like a rainbow. Hanging underneath was a map of the walk and a breakdown of the seven sections related to color, sound and the Chakra system.
For example, the painting for Section 1 from Venice Beach, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada, was predominately red. A musician on the walk labeled each section with a musical key, with the key of “C” being experimented in Section 1.
The theme of the section was survival, and the symbol was earth. In the Chakra system, the root Chakra is survival.
“We were just out there to survive. That first section was deserts. As you go through the Chakras, this one’s emotion and will,” Smith said, pointing to the next two paintings featuring the colors orange and yellow.
Smith said that once the group made it past the Rocky Mountains, the walk took on a different feel. The men had conquered their fears and demons.
The remaining sections were the themes of balance, communication, imagination and understanding.
Embarking on journey
Before the walk, Smith had been working in Los Angeles for about a decade in special effects, set designs and prop making. He also started his own production company developing indie film projects, art and music events as well as restorations and interior design.
Looking to spread creativity and self-expression, Smith and his friends created the United Souls of Awareness and set off on their journey. The mission was to create a network to share art and culture by traveling town to town.
“When you get into some smaller towns in the middle of nowhere, you meet people who are doing art just for the love of it, not trying to become famous or a huge rock star,” he said.
It was a mutually inspiring experience. Smith said it was a realization that art wasn’t contained to big cities.
“We were starting to realize with a lot of our friends that you didn’t need to be in a Los Angeles area or New York area to make movies or record our music. It was kind of like, with our laptops and what we had, you could do it wherever you are,” he said.
Of course, there was also the physical act of walking across the country. Smith said back in 2007 they didn’t have smartphones or GPS to guide them on their journey.
“A couple times we just had to go for it when we wanted to take shortcuts and kind of just eyeballing it,” he said.
The word of their walk spread. People came out to aid the traveling artists, providing information, food and work. The group put their production skills to use, such as making commercials for a hotel near the Grand Canyon, and connected with entrepreneurs who showed them their trade.
During a two-week stay in Las Vegas, the men met Bret Raymer and Wayde King, who would go on to star in Animal Planet’s “Tanked,” a show about custom fish tanks. Along the way, they also spoke about their trip at elementary schools and senior centers.
On the road, Smith said people would tag along on bikes, skateboards and in cars. The men would send them on missions to find places to go in the next community. They even had a chef from an Indian restaurant deliver a buffet of food in a van.
“As long as we had a positive attitude and a positive flow, things opened up to us,” Smith said.
The men ended their walk in Manhattan, where they were donated a loft to stay at to recoup and work. They stayed there for about a month, at which time Smith said they had to make a choice to return to the West Coast or keep walking.
“Everything was so nice out there and taken care of. It was like, do we really want to stop? There was no reason to stop but we were like, some of the guys we were missing and missing the West Coast and wanting to get back to California,” Smith said.
The men packed up a van that was donated to them and traveled west, hitting places they didn’t visit on the walk.
“That’s where we did a lot more presentations and talking and things like that,” Smith said.
Planting roots
Smith’s parents are from the Allentown area. From the walk and visiting his family, he heard of Stonehedge Gardens in Tamaqua. He decided to visit the gardens and met the owner, Russell Keich.
“I saw that there could be a really cool arts community and development over at Stonehedge, and I started to volunteer there and eventually I moved onto the grounds and lived at Stonehedge for three years,” Smith said.
Smith has been living in Tamaqua for about eight years with his wife, Lauren. He said their best collaboration is their daughter, Willow, 4.
A few years ago, Smith and his business partner, Tom Moroz, bought the former Little Schuylkill Hotel on Market Street and established The Seed House. It was remade into a place for artists to work to create a neighborhood-like atmosphere.
According to its website, www.theseedhouse.net, its focus is to nourish the seed of creativity from within, activating the heart and learning from others. Every week, they host Seed House Saturdays. The events are another way to meet people and their projects and aspirations.
Smith is currently working on a satire series involving puppets, current events and aliens. He hopes to debut the show online in May or June.
A decade later, Smith still feels the impact of the walk, but he knows the journey to grow the arts is ongoing. Asked whether he would take the walk again, he didn’t hesitate.
“I definitely would,” he said.
To learn more about Smith or The Seed House, visit www.k2creates.com and www.theseedhouse.net.