..........ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Ashley Childs™ forte for creation has always been driven by her intuition and tactile curiosities. While growing in San Diego, the Pacific Ocean remains an oasis of inspiration: winds & waves, vivid sunsets and the constant rushing tides.
Why she moved from such a paradise still astounds her,however, she pulled through and finally received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Chicago's renowned and highly conceptual, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Ashley spent those years exploring various fields such as ceramics, interior architecture, bronze sculpture and light-metal casting. Despite a lifetime of short-lived diversions, attention to photography has endured. Photography is her recourse, a means to escape and perfect while traveling. Seizing those obscure moments of chance takes her knack for observation. She prefers what is most perplexing, waiting for those intimate portraits, or hypnotic landscapes...........One of Chicago's fine jewelry designers and Spectrum Award Winners, Ellie Thompson, G.G., of Ellie Thompson + Co., hired Ashley as an intern. Quickly grasping the jewelry industry’s meaty nature so well, she was later hired as project manager. As an experienced gemologist, appraisal consultant and designer, Ellie remains a loyal mentor. It was finally grasping Ellie’s emphasis of ‘personal philosophy,’ which validated Ashley’s aspirations. Retaining her hands-on design approach demanded quality bench skills. Diving into Alan Revere's Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Francisco, quickly prompted her metalsmithing techniques.
..........True to her nature, Ashley relies on a kinesthetic process; embracing a physical verve, and emphasizing sensuality, tactility, and gesture. Her ideas stem from a place deep and complex, an artistic, emotional labyrinth. Inspirations usually derive from jolting revelations or simple,
intuitive directions from the materials, alone. The Agadez-Collections demonstrate a collaboration of the senses. Vibrant, curving, sensual forms, juxtaposed with natural pearls, or fine, intricate chain and gems, exude both strength and delicacy in each composition. A sense of progression suits her creative process, one piece influencing the next, all a physical, visual and tactile process. ..........The School of the Art Institute of Chicago stressed 'art' and 'concept' as a permanent fusion, forcing Ashley to come up with tedious theories. This usually detracted from what she always viewed as something that just “was” or “is.” Recognizing and accepting what truly drives her intuitive methodology has taken years. She can put all the conceptions happily aside and fully embrace the process and experience. Everything she creates is like a body of evidence... elements of tangible proof... intimate portraits and narrative, all encompassing her personal opus.
Ashley is driven by pure and simple creation. She values the moment, without explanation. Born to work with her hands, her vocation remains her alluring, potent & palpable passion.
