Arin Ashley : Member Q & A
...and all that’s nice ( bassinet, refined sugar, digital wallpaper print). 2019
Q: Firstly, tell us about yourself! Where do you live, what sort of art do you make and how many children do you have?
A: I have one child. He just turned 7 years old in July. I became pregnant with him unexpectedly in 2011 while working towards my Bachelors of Fine Arts degree at the University of Louisville. He was just shy of 5 months old at the opening of my BFA exhibition. After graduating, my partner, Dominic’s dad had two years left to complete his degree. During this time, I juggled the role of primary caregiver with working as a server at a local restaurant along with attempting to work part time in a local glass art studio. We were lucky to have unpaid part-time childcare help from friends and family, because childcare, maternal/parental care and postpartum support are incredibly inaccessible in the U.S. When Dominic was four years old, I began the process of applying to graduate programs. In the Spring of this year, I completed my MFA degree from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia.
Q: How do you continue to engage with your art practice alongside raising children?
A: I do not currently have a routine in place. It is a work in progress, but since graduating and moving out of my studio space at Tyler, I have created a small work space in our home. While in grad school, I began creating works with Dominic as a collaborator.
One thing that I found helpful while in grad school, and that I am trying to continue with since graduating, is finding and staying engaged in local spaces and communities that support mothers and parents as well as specifically advocating for mother artists. One artist that I have found to be incredibly helpful and inspiring in this area is Lenka Clayton. I have also found our neighbor mamas Facebook group to be incredibly helpful in connecting with other mothers who are willing and happy to share their experiences and also to work with me on collecting information for research as well as materials for my work.
Q: What does a typical day look like for you and how much time do you manage to carve out for your own work?
A: I don’t think that I have an answer for this one just yet. Our day to day is still far too unpredictable at this point. I am currently working in the evenings as a server at a local Philadelphia restaurant, I do part-time pet care, I will be teaching a one day a week continuing education art class in the fall, and I am doing my best to apply for grants and residencies, all while also caring for our son while he is out of school for the summer. My partner works during the day doing general contracting work, so we are able to trade off childcare when I go to work in the evenings.
16; bra and underwear belonging to the artist, lumber, clothes line, plaster. 2019
Q: Have you come up against specific challenges as an artist and mother? What were they and how have you navigated these challenges?
A: Being an artist, especially in the south, already comes with a lot of judgement and side eye. People often only view artmaking as a hobby or even a waste of time and resources and not as a meaningful career. So throw that on top of being a struggling new parent who can barely make the rent each month.
Aside from that, our greatest challenges have revolved around being young, unmarried, low-income parents with no affordable access to childcare, healthcare, and the support that we need. We have also faced some serious challenges with gender roles and expectations from external sources as well as within our own relationship.
Q: What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
A: I am not sure if this was ever advice that was given to me, but the advice that I would give…
Block out the judgement as best you can. Your work is valid and important. Find other mothers and parents who are artists. Connect with mothers who have had similar experiences to yours so that you can share, commiserate and feel less alone. Don’t compare yourself to other mothers. Don’t compare your work to other artists. Don’t take criticism from anyone that you wouldn’t take advice from. Take up space. Join Lenka Clayton’s Artist Residency in Motherhood.
Q: Who are your role models? Who or what inspires and encourages you?
A: People who inspire and encourage me:
Mothers / Womxn / Queer Folks / People challenging the status quo
Courtney M. Leonard / Karyn Olivier / Pepon Osorio / Doreen Garner / Jessica Jane Julius
Among many many others...
Stained; Ashes of Labor. (Found/discarded glass, donated breast milk, copper foil, solder, steel.) 2019
Q: How has the experience of motherhood impacted your practice on an emotional/intellectual level? Has it made you view yourself/your work differently? Are there things that influence your work now that you didn’t think about pre-kids?
A: This one is hard for me to assess because I became a mother before becoming an established or practicing artist.
Q: If your child(ren) were asked “Tell me about your mother” what do you hope they would say? Are there particular things you are trying to show/teach them as an artist, a mother, a woman?
A: I hope that Dominic will one day be able to look at my work and be proud. I hope that he will be able to see that it was important work.
I try to show him that anyone regardless of gender should be able to pursue their passions, interests and achieve their goals, while also teaching him that they can not do it alone.
I hope that one day he will be able to understand the significance of a queer, gender-non-conforming woman, artist, mother, co-parent, partner pursuing their goals while navigating these multiple identities within the context of a heteronormative, white male, patriarchal society.
Stained; Ashes of Labor. (detail) (Found/discarded glass, donated breast milk, copper foil, solder, steel.) 2019
Arin Ashley is an interdisciplinary artist and educator living in Philadelphia, PA. She is originally from Louisville, KY were she was born and raised. Arin identifies as queer, gender-non-conforming and uses she/they pronouns. She received a BFA in both Glass and Photography from the University of Louisville and an MFA in Glass/Ceramics from Tyler School of Art in 2019.
Having grown up fully immersed in a culture of shame with an emphasis on suffering in silence, Arin uses her work as a catalyst to process, reveal and heal painful and traumatic experiences while also working to unlearn the toxic ideals that led to many of these traumas.