By: BANGS Ambassador Taylor Adams

IG: @tayloradamsart

A year ago around this time I booked a flight and quit my job to go on a 6 week trip across Asia.

I traveled to the Philippines, Bali, and South Korea and wore my Bangs pretty much the entire time - they are the perfect shoes for traveling!  

I am an artist and am constantly looking for new sources of inspiration, so this was huge for me. When I arrived in Asia, I wanted to draw everything. 

Like most artists, I travel with a sketchbook wherever I go and I was using it more than I had in months. From airports and bus terminals, from little cabins in the Philippines, balconies in Bali, and cafes in South Korea, I sat and drew the sights and experiences I was soaking up each day. 

It was impossible to go anywhere without being inspired. Rural countrysides, bustling cities, serene beaches, ornate temples - I got to see it all.  

After 6 weeks, 3 countries, 15 planes, 3 trains, 3 mysterious insect bites, 1 doctor's visit (got an insect bite treated in Bali - yikes), and countless new friends and adventures, I returned to America grateful for the trip of a lifetime and a meal that didn’t include rice. 

With a mind full of ideas and new perspectives, I knew I wanted to create something that would serve as a visual reflection of my trip. 

So I created a series of travel drawings titled, “You Are Here”.

Within a handmade accordion book, each drawing develops from a single line that enters and leaves it, only to establish another. “You Are Here” is about being present in each moment - for even a plane ride or bus terminal can show you something if you’re willing to see it.

It’s about pulling a thread of each moment and carrying it with you as you move forward, mentally storing and holding onto those unique memories to last you a lifetime. 

It’s about allowing your path to be altered, for new places and experiences are the building components of your future perspectives. And most of all, it’s about the excitement of where the journey will take you next.

#liveBANGS,

Taylor