Love Love

What is 1st thing you think when you wake up?
"open your blinds"

What other forms of creative expression are you involved in?
-I love my blog because it's like a journal / note to self of things I think are cool or worth remembering its like a productive form of procrastination.
-Little crafts (like making little gifts or cooking or drawing)
-Thrift stores or yard sales because you see things you never thing of or even knew existed -- then when you buy crazy little things, you have to find crazy little places to put them to make them just as interesting as they were at the yard sale or thrift store.
-Live music is the best because the whole experience -- seeing music performed live and how it effects the people listening in such a different way is amazing.
-Being an urban explorer and going into little places that you would never go in unless you had gotten lost and ended up there...Knitch is the perfect example, its this tiny little knitting shop tucked away. It is really beautiful and perfect and I don't even knit but it makes me want to. I am going to blog about it now.

What kind of doodles do you make, if any?
Lots, I like to do doodle in ink and then paint w. watered down whiteout and always prefer to doodle on cardboard.

How much do the change of seasons affect your work?
I feel different when the season change. In the winter I like to work a lot on my computer because I'm cold and need to be cozy. In the spring I don't want to do anything but take walks and ride bikes so my work may suffer. In the summer I would rather do the work I want and not the work I need to do. and the fall is my favorite and its a mix of all of them

What environment do you tend to work in?
coffee shops -- I like to work where there are lots of people for me to look at...sometimes I like to make up stories about the people

What colors inspire you?
turquoise and soft yellow and peaches and melon

Any particular situations or memories that have directly inspired your work?
Growing up in a traveling gypsy family and meeting interesting people and visiting strange obscure places like "the Mystery Spot" which is this crazy place where gravity is backwards. Also, my mom is an amazingly creative person. Everything she creates is beautiful. She plates the most beautiful food and finds the most amazing treasures. Nothing that she does is "normal," which makes her the coolest person. She doesn't watch tv and never let me when I was growing up. She believed that we needed to experience things around us and made us go to crazy events like an artichoke festival when I was 7-years-old. So basically - just the lesson that everything is an experience and you cant waste anything -- and take it for what its worth or you are cheating yourself. Does it directly inspire me, no but it has taught me to find what is inspiring.

What did you think you would be when you were little?
I wanted to be a movie star but I was the worst actress and couldn't ever remember my lines. In 6th grade I wanted to be a movie director...and that's how I fell into art direction...ta da. Now, when I grow up, I want to travel the entire world and whatever I have to do to do that is what I will be when I grow up.

How do you know when your work is "finished?" Is it ever done?
It is never done but I am finished when I get to a point that I can stand back and say I am happy with it or when I walk away and don't come back.

Any particular objects that have directly inspired your work?
Everything. I think the most inspiring things are the least expected. I do love walking around boutiques or new places and finding great items, people, environments.

Any particular songs or quotes that have directly inspired your work?
"Without change there would be no butterflies."
"Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent." - I don't know if I believe it but I kind of like that about it

What is an object you would choose to describe yourself?
A cupcake.
Making a cupcake, and cooking in general, is about creating something new from things from a bunch of different things. Then end product is looks nothing like the flour and eggs you started with. In the end, it's a yummy little cake that can be decorated however you like. And no matter what color icing or what kind of sprinkles you put on it, its still just a cupcake. I'm a mix of crazy experiences that are nothing like what I've come from but in the end, they make an Ashley. And I like cupcakes.

What does your bookshelf look like?
Every flat surface in my apartment is a potential book shelf. I think it makes things more interesting and I like having a good book to look at no matter where someone is sitting.
My actually bookshelf holds a few books, a few picture frames, my Holga, the letters "A" and "S" covered in fabric from Anthropologie that I got for my birthday and 2 old flower vases that don't have flowers in them but have dried sticks I found on a walk once...much more interesting than flower.

What kinds of images or items are surrounding your workspace?
My work space is an old European bakers desk I found at a yard sale w. a few black and white books and a few small potted plants. And a small, old fashion sand timer (like in the Wizard of Oz). And the walls are all windows so I can look out. One wall is brick but I have an old window hanging on it.
But right now I'm in a coffee shop and my workspace is made up of my computer and tea.