Heavily influenced by abstract expressionism and the Japanese aesthetic of Wabi-Sabi, in which beauty is found in simplicity and imperfection, Ashley hand-throws and sculpts pottery and ceramics both suited to utilitarian and decorative purposes.
Being a creative raised in an environment in which artistic expression was often quashed, Ashley’s artistic endeavors have always been self taught and idiosyncratic. Not bound by rules (or often even intention), but the pure expression of feeling. Finding the perfect medium for that expression has been a lifelong journey beginning somewhere in fiber arts, then meandering over to oil painting and even film photography, to settle, finally, on the clay arts.
The themes and vivid colors in her creations often reflect those of her complicated childhood and relationship to her childhood- impermanence, experimentation, fragmentation, irregularity, and healing- and often feature elements of abstract expressionism both textured in the clay and in the application of glaze.