Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ashley Wright. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Ashley, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
I was raised by a single father and he did everything in his power to instill confidence, curiosity and integrity in me. My Dad was always my biggest cheerleader, he encouraged me to dream big, take risks, and be myself. I cant thank him enough for what he did to build me up as a person. When I was a freshman in high school I was apart of my high school Orchestra. I came home one day to tell my Dad that I had a fantastic Idea to get the principal players of the orchestra to get together with me and start a sting trio that can play at local events. My Dad immediately supported me and helped me bring my idea to reality. He encouraged and nurtured my little entrepreneurial spirit. He helped me draft contracts with local businesses and guided me on how to market and price my services. My string trio held together for 2 years before I moved on to other ventures. My Dad passed away when I was 18, but the impact my Dad has had on me hast lasted throughout my life and past his. I wouldn’t have traded him for the world.
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’m Ashley Wright, Artist and Owner of Ashley Wright Art! I’m from Redlands, California. I create low relief sculptures on canvas that depict vivid landscapes, spins on retro designs, 80s nostalgia and strong thematic elements of nature and technology. I am perhaps most well known for my Poppy low relief sculptures and landscape low relief sculptures that depict the many Californians landscapes. I have sold paintings and exhibited internationally. As well as created impact with my art to my local communities, like the Omnitrans bus mural project that I completed in 2023. I’ve been painting since 2019 and have been an avid artist my entire life. Dabbling in art, music, and theatre. Even receiving a degree in Viola Performance from the University of Redlands.
My inspiration behind my art comes from my struggle with mental health. I have C-PTSD (Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), ADHD, Depression and Anxiety. My mental health has been a result of the childhood trauma I experienced and young adult trauma. Painting became a way for me to fully process my pain and transform it into something beautiful that so many people can connect to and find solace in. With my original paintings, prints, and stickers I am to bring a transformation of beauty into people’s home and personal spaces that they can feel a special connection to. My favorite collectors of my art have had deep conversations with me about their own mental health and how being able to talk to someone so openly and vulnerably about it had impacted them. Selling art is difficult but feels especially magical when you make the right connection and impact the right people.
I hope through my art that others can gain inspiration, insight, and power from viewing and purchasing my work. I want people to feel deeply about art in their homes. A piece that comes with a story and a connection to the collector. Being able to give people something like that through your own passion and pain transforms you and heals a very deep part of you. Your mental health does not define you, only you can.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
It’s really tricky to pick just one. I feel like there are too many instances in my life that can reflect and illustrate my resilience. I’ve experienced a lot of loss, hardship, and physical and mental abuse. Combined, these things weighed on me heavily. Especially after my Dad passed and I was alone. I struggled hard to work 3 jobs and go to college full time for a degree I no longer wanted. Eventually I felt the pinch and had been placed on a 5150 hold and was taken to a Psychiatric Hospital for suicide watch. I no longer wanted to continue living if my life was going to be endless trauma and work I didn’t want to do. After my stay in the psych ward I continued therapy and fought to gain myself back. I refrained how I thought about myself and the world around me. Trauma in my life settled more and the only strife I was left with was the fight to climb out of poverty. A strife so many people know all too well. But I knew deep down that I wanted happiness in my life. I wanted to make my dreams come true. I couldn’t drag myself out of that hole alone. People help you heal not just yourself. I found so much solace in the chosen family I built that it helped keep the fire lit under me. I was no longer lighting my own flames or others. It’s not easy to brush so closely to death and sort through the feelings of suicidal ideation. I’m immensely proud of myself and the people who love me for helping me turn my life around.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
The biggest pivot I have made in my career happened in when I was in my first semester of grad school. I was studying to be a Special Educator, something I was passionate about at the time as a neurodivergent individual. At the end of the semester I fell incredibly ill and was hospitalized for mononucleosis. I struggled with mono for months and continued to struggle with lingering symptoms for about a year. I made the difficult decision to stop, give my body time to rest and recover, and think about the direction I was taking in my life. I had been on survival autopilot for years. After a year of being sick the pandemic and lockdowns began. And once that began, the paintbrushes came out. And voila, a Painter was born. Thanks to that pivot, I’m following my dreams.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ashleywrightart.com
- Instagram: @artbyashleywright
- TikTok: @artbyashleywright
- Email: ashleyn.wright@aol.com
Image Credits
Gabriela Toth Vanduncan Johnson-Phillips Ashley Wright (self)