Artist Statement:
My artwork examines the body as a site of trauma, transformation, and healing. Combining the fluidity of watercolor, opacity of gouache, fragmentation of collage, and ghostliness of image transfers, I create layered works on paper that are evocative of emotional residue and visceral felt senses. By intertwining female forms with biomorphic motifs, I seek to reimagine a connection between body and environment, psyche and soma, self and world.
Artist Bio:
Ashley Blanton creates mixed media works on paper that explore the liminal spaces between internal and external experiences. Inspired by psychological states, archetypal narratives, and biological morphologies, Ashley creates imagery that seeks to connect human emotionality with natural cycles and patterns. Themes of fallow and fruition, isolation and connection, and descent and emergence weave throughout Ashley’s imaginal landscapes.
Ashley holds a Bachelors of Art in Studio Art from the College of Santa Fe and a Masters of Professional Studies in Art Therapy and Creativity Development from Pratt Institute. She is a Board-Certified Art Therapist (ATR-BC) who currently lives and works in Asheville, North Carolina (on occupied Cherokee land).