We recently connected with Ashley Garner and have shared our conversation below.

Ashley, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

My most meaningful project was a series that went by several different names over the years but always held the same core concept: the secret life of plants. How are plants effecting us psychologically and physiologically. Are we being effected by plants in different ways based on different sensory experiences? Can plants, or just nature as a whole, be coupled with other medical treatments to help us heal?

This work began in 2015 when I was coming out a huge imposter syndrome moment in my life. I had been making fine art photography for the past few years about mythology, creative portraiture, and often with a macabe or sublime theme. The work was dark and always full of mystery, inspired by the Dutch Masters. But I was personally in a dark place in my life – confused about life after college, navigating the nuances and toxic workplaces of the art industry in NYC, and dealing with some very heavy and traumatic personal relationships. My work held a common theme always at this time – the black background. After a few years I began to worry that I couldn’t make work that was any good against any other background color – which led to me wondering if I was even a good photographer or just relying on the drama of black to overshadow any other technically weak misgivings.

In 2015 I was working a job that introduced me to the beauty of flowers. The more I saw them in these grand arrangements, the more I wanted to learn. And the more I learned the more I wanted to revolve my life around them. I began to learn about botanical science, flower symbolism, environmental psychology, and attention restoration theory (ART). In a matter of months I had developed a concept that would explore the “inner worlds” of medicinal flowers through video and recording the vibrations of these plants, while also collaborating with other artists to create the other sensory aspects of each plants (scent, taste, touch). Within a matter of 2 years I had create an immersive experience that had you walking into a gallery and through different “portals” to experience all 5 senses of Marigold, Wild Rose, Lavender, Echinacea, Tiger Lily, and Chamomile.

Over the next 5 years this work became my main focus of all my art. It began to get the attention of other galleries, leading to solo shows in Manahattan, Kentucky, and Kansas, and a debut at the Museum of Moving Image. It got installed in a luxury hotel lobby, and used for a 6-month trial at an art therapy rehab clinic in Cambridge, MA. Outside of my art career this work was effecting my personal life. I had never been a nature lover or environmentalist. In fact, I grew up in the countryside of NC and spent my entire life trying to get away and to the big city. But once I started to learn more about it I was hooked. I began to seek ways to bring nature into my life any way that a girl living in Brooklyn could. I adopted plants and soon had 60 in my small bedroom. I no longer went out at night, instead opting to stay in and read about soil science and seeds. In 2020 after the city lockdown I decided to change my life completely and packed my bags, quit my day job in the art industry, and moved in Massachusetts seeking a life closer to nature.

While I don’t make this particular work any more, it has changed the way I describe my work as an artist. No longer am I just an art photographer and film maker, I am an eco-artist, making work focused on plants, education, and producing physical work that follows the Reduce Reuse Recycle motto. I also now had a career in horticulture, working as a Growth Marketing Director for a greenhouse manufacturing company. I spend my days talking about gardening, sustainability, and environmental impacts.

Ashley, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I went to a public university in Miami called Florida International University. My intention was to get to NYC to work in the fashion industry so I majored in Photography and Art History. When I got to NYC in 2014 I began working in sales for the prominent art fair, SCOPE, while freelancing with fashion photography. After a tumultuous break up I made a series of photos and a short film called “Mermaid Food” that caught the attention of several galleries and art gatekeeper, giving me the confidence boost I needed to continue making work in that direction. This work was a combination of portraiture, still life, and intricate story telling.

From 2015-2020 I had shows at the Museum of the Moving Image, Gallery 151, installations at luxury hotels, colleges, rehab clinics, social clubs, and plant shops. Clients ranged from tech companies like Not Impossible Music, to jewelry brands like Angely Martinez and Poppy Island, clothing brands Papusza Couture, and musicians for album covers and single images.

Today I would describe myself as an eco artist / photographer and film maker. I make work with the intention of it bringing people closer to nature and wanting to learn more. I take self portraits as well as build still life arrangements with flowers and other organic materials. I work in the physical and digital realm, making the physical still life, photographing it, and then printing it and selling in antique frames. I am commissioned most often for creative portraits or macro photos of flowers for homes.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish my art school program had taught me more about the business of being an artist. It has taken me many years of trail and error and eventually working in a fine art print + frame shop to understand how to properly price my work for my audience and how to market it to a wider audience outside of the very small niche art world in NYC. I remember asking a professor what to price my photos at when I had my first show and he looked at me and said he couldn’t help. I think that was extremely irresponsible for a professor to not give any sense of guidance or starting point for someone starting out. I’ve learned several tricks of the trade that have made it easy to figure out a starting point for pricing art, how to market it, how to research your market, your audience, and be able to experiment with things without losing out on big money.

I would also say that I would tell other artists that having a gallery show or gallery representation does NOT equal success. It may more often mean alot of financial investment on your end in hopes that it might sell, and to be honest, it often won’t sell, at least at first. I think there are many more creative, and inexpensive ways, to get your art out there without having to rely on such gatekeeping approaches.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I took several classes about social media algorithm to learn about how to reach out to people that weren’t already in my circle. It was about hashtags, following other accounts, learning about posting at specific times of day, creating specific type of content, and engaging with your followers. It’s truly a full time job in and of itself, but it makes a difference for those that don’t have connections in the industry, like myself. Social media is a marketing tool and should be treated as such. Do not think of it as your portfolio, or your website, or your gallery space, it is marketing plain and simple.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ashleyggarner.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/ashleyggarner
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashleyggarnerstudios/

Image Credits
All images by me