Featured Artist | Ashley Goldberg

One of our favorite ways to keep Studio Calico kits fresh is by collaborating with new artists. We found Ashley Goldberg through instagram (YAY social media!) and felt that her eclectic and funky style would add a bit of an unexpected element to our kits. You can find many of her designs in our Penny Arcade kits. Her creativity and passion comes through in all of her art, and we're looking forward to working with her more in the future!

Ashley Goldberg has loved arts, crafts, creatures (both imaginary and real), and nature her entire life. Her artwork tends to be narrative and simple, but with a sophisticated or stark color palette. Her body of work includes paintings, illustrations, pattern design, and portraiture. Goldberg's work focuses on mark making, color exploration, and visual story telling.

Ashley lives in the lovely gray and green city of Portland, Oregon. When Ashley is not creating and drawing she can be found thrifting, drinking too much coffee, staying up too late, taking too many pictures of her dog, Lyle, and working on home improvement projects on her Cape Cod Revival.

Some of her clients include: Urban Outfitters,Target, The Land of Nod, PacSun, American Greetings, Serena and Lily, Canadian Family Magazine, and Chronicle books. Press includes: The New York Times, Dwell, Inc. Magazine, Lucky Magazine, Juxtapose, Design Sponge, and Apartment Therapy

Can you tell us about your creative process? What mediums do you work with, what inspires you?

My creative process can take on a few different appearances based on the project I am working on - OR if is more for work or more for pleasure. Although, really, that is a blurred line and sometimes I can't tell which it is. I like to jump right into pattern making...so either I get to painting or I get to digitally painting with my wacom tablet in Photoshop. Most of my drawings/paintings will end up being scanned and cleaned up in photoshop. That will always be the case if I am making them print ready for a client or turning them into a print to sell in my shop. And this is the time where I say you can do things in photoshop knowing way less than you think you need to. I literally learn something new everyday. I am self-taught and still self-learning in all things art : )

Generally, my process begins in my sketchbook or art journal. I am a art journal and sketchbook junkie. A lot things get worked out in between the pages of an art journal. If I am creating narrative work it will always be with a pen or pencil. If I am just warming up or getting some ideas down on paper it can be with acrylic paint, gouache, watercolor, sprays really whatever I think will get me closest to my desired result....I reach most for pens, pencils, and acrylic paint. Some people create knowing EXACTLY what they want to make. For work I will often have a loose blueprint in my mind, but 9 times out of 10 when I sit down I have no idea what I will create until it is happening. That is the process that makes me most relaxed so I go with it. I think that is where my best work comes from. I also get really nerdy about supplies and trying new ones. So, if I have placed an online order or come back from the art store I will make a series of work just exploring the new media I picked up. I might be a hoarder in that way ;)

Would you mind giving us a peek into your creative space?

Happy to! It is always at a stage ranging from cluttered to messy to just a disaster. In fairness, the room always is being used and it is teeny tiny : )

We’d love to see more of your art! Could you share a couple of your favorite projects?

Favorite projects..hmmm...that's a tough one! There have been quite a few. Last year I created a collection for Urban Outfitters called "Char-Bea" by Ashley G. A lot of people asked me where the name Char-Bea came from. Like most people reading this I am pretty sentimental, and it was the name of the street I grew up on. Here are a few photos of that.

I also have done a lot of work for the Australian brand Gorman. I love all the ways they have interpreted my patterns. And that my patterns were a part of their show during fashion week was pretty awesome.

Lastly, (sorry I'm picking three!) is all the cool stuff I get to do with The Land of Nod. Wall art, throw pillows, storage, you name it I've worked on it with them. And we have a bunch of stuff that I can't talk about yet, but am so excited for the next year plus of releases. Having my pillow on the cover of their catalog was a bit surreal.

How did you and Studio Calico come to collaborate?

I have admired the scrapbooking/memory keeping/paper crafting world for a very long time. I think many people look at art as a grey scale where you have fine art on one end and paper crafting (or anything where crafting is implied) somewhere near the other end. But I disagree. I think it is more of a venn diagram where all types of art overlap and intersect at different points. It's those points of intersection that interest me most. And really, the crafting world just comes out with the best products. While I don't ever feel that I make art with a capital "A", so to speak, I do my fair share of gallery work. Many of my favorite tools come from the crafting world not the fine art.

In an effort to explore that more I created a stamp line based on my illustrations and deconstructing some of my patterns. I wanted to see how artists, crafters, and makers put them to use in their own unique way. It's not much different from how a company takes one of my patterns but makes it their own through the application (What surface it goes on. What fabric they use. If they change the colors or scale.)

So, my stamps and I went to CHA in January. Studio Calico found me through instagram. The whole group could not have been nicer. After I gave them my spiel they introduced themselves and all I could do was blurt out "I hoard your wood veneers!". And the rest is history. Studio Calico has an impeccable design aesthetic. Whenever I pin something paper crafting that inspires me it usually can be traced back to Studio Calico. I see scrapbooking pages and project life spreads and I see GREAT design. Often innovative design. I want the whole world to see that too!

Where can we find more of your work?

You can find my prints and my stamp line, AHA arts, in my etsy shop: ashleyg.etsy.com

Right now the best place to keep up with my current projects (and me, if you are so inclined) is instagram. You can find me there as @ashleygoldberg

and of course there is Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ashleygoldberg/

Here's a look at what Ashley has made with her products from this Penny Arcade kits :

Thank you, Ashley - both for contributing your awesome designs to our kits and for giving us a glimpse into your life & art!