We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashley Breshears a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ashley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I learned my blacksmithing and metal casting during my undergraduate exploration for my major. I found that the feral nature of the material of iron casting fulfilled my soul and drove my creative interests. The skills I developed through blacksmithing and metal casting I found the most essential is the art of patience. The metal casting process is very time consuming and comes with many steps, so rushing it leads to poor results. The same can be said about blacksmithing, if you rush the smithing process your material will look battered and not clean. Knowing that, there isn’t really anything I could do to speed up the learning process because the way sculpture is made you have to be patient and methodical about the work. The only obstacle that ever got in my way for learning more was my own self-doubt and the lack of confidence in my work.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a 7-12 Grade Art Teacher in rural Kansas. I have been teaching for two and a half years, and everyday I learn more and more about creative processes! I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Fort Hays State University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Mississippi. I am currently going through a non-traditional route called Transition to Teaching through Fort Hays State University to get a fully certified Teaching License. With this job, I find the most joy in seeing young creatives find their path and artistic abilities become reality with their problem solving, understanding, and developing of artist techniques.

I am also the CEO of an upcoming and very new non-profit called Spirit Sculpture Gardens and Makerspace Inc. Our goal with the non-profit is to provide two things, 1) a creative makerspace that focuses on the Metal Arts such as blacksmithing, metal casting, metal fabrication, and the like to community members who want to explore what we cherish most about art. This allows our community members to get a taste of the art form, and allows them to explore their creative side in an open, free space within their hometown. The second part of our non-profit is to bring outdoor sculptures from all over the globe to our community to expand and evolve our arts culture, as well as beautify our community with art in public spaces. With this non-profit, we aim to bring in the future visiting artists that specialize in the metal arts to help with workshops, demonstrations, and create a body of work that can be showcased to our rural community. Not only does this bring artists from across the world to small town life in Kansas, this helps our community members see and understand what art is like from other places.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding thing for me as an artist is teaching the next generation of artists my craft. While they struggle at first, watching them get excited as they progress and then get the hang of the technique is the most rewarding thing for me. Also watching them be excited with what the created is the best.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

For me, it’s not about knowing what you want to make, it’s about just jumping in and doing the thing whether you succeed or not. For some, especially my students, they say they’re not creative enough so they don’t take my class. I usually follow up by telling them you should do it anyways. Just because you’re not good at drawing, like me, doesn’t mean there isn’t another medium you will thrive in.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ashleybreshearsart.com
• Instagram: smith_sculpture, spirit_sculpture_gardens
• Facebook: Spirit Sculpture Gardens and Makerspace Inc.

Image Credits

AriDel Photography – Linda and David Edell