Michael Ashley grew up in Green County MO, where he explored the rivers and streams of the Ozark Mountains. He graduated from College of the Ozarks with a BA in Painting and Ceramics then moved to Tachi, Taiwan where he did a one-year residency at Tainan National University for the Arts. In 2010 he graduated from the University of Mississippi with an MFA in Ceramics. He has taught at Missouri State University, the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia PA. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Art and runs the Ceramics, Sculpture and Design programs at College of the Ozarks in Branson Mo.
My work invites touch, like a stone plucked from a riverbed I love pots that are smooth in the hand but have a rugged, natural beauty. I observe a constant erosion and evaporation that takes place in my daily environment. I strive for layers of visual depth combining slip, glaze and texture to recall this geological wearing. Traditional utilitarian forms are the vocabulary for my investigation, surfaces are a combination of historic patterns and motifs mixed with the vibrancy and life of midcentury abstract expressionist paintings.
Ritual and habit inform my studio practice. Art, work and play exist in all aspects of life.
I begin my day with tea; boil the water, strain, pour and savor. That rhythm carries throughout my day whether chopping onions or wedging clay. Make something, use it, let it inform your life, make more.