Arrik was born in Lowell MA, and lived mostly in the Eastern USA., graduating from Bristol Eastern High School in 1979.  From there he joined the Marine Corps as a reserve infantryman, performing his duties while studying at UConn where he received a bachelors degree in 1983 from the School of Fine Arts. Arrik's first post graduate job was as a Correctional Officer in CT.  He left Corrections to work as a Free Lance artist in the packaging industry which he continued until 2010. Over the years he has slowly moved closer to his dream of being an artist and woodworker. In 2012 Arrik started building his 'dream' home which is a project that is the mainstay of his life even now.  As life moves along Arrik is more and more developing his own ideas and becoming less and less reliant on the projects and work demands of others.