Ashley York

Artist/ Ceramics Instructor, Temple University, Philadelphia

Education:
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture and Minor in Art History, UNC Charlotte (2010)
Master of Fine Arts, Temple University (expected 2016)

Hometown: Lincolnton, NC

Ashley York’s latest ceramic sculptures lie at the intersection of nature and technology. On hiking trips through Colorado, she took photographs of the great outdoors, then brought the pictures back to Philadelphia, where she is in graduate school at Temple University. With the images and her experiences for inspiration, Ashley created metaphorical landscapes by using the latest technological advances: laser cutting, CNC milling, and ceramic sculpture built by a 3D clay printer that she constructed.

“Themes associated with my current projects are ideas of the ‘sublime,’ travel, and the notion of an ideal landscape,” she says. “Technology and digital design strongly influence my work in terms of method and concept.” 

Coming to UNC Charlotte from Lincolnton, NC, Ashley says she found a faculty that was “encouraging and nurturing, yet constructively critical. Janet Williams and Roy Strassberg pushed me to achieve my personal best and then to surpass that, not only in terms of my studio practice but my goals as an artist. They continue to be present, helpful, and encouraging of all my endeavors.” 

Since graduating from UNC Charlotte, Ashley has served as the Emerging Artist in Residence at Millersville University in Lancaster, PA (2012-14) and as a resident artist at Chautauqua Institute of Visual Arts in Chautauqua, NY (2013). She will complete her MFA this spring at Temple’s Tyler School of Art, where she holds a teaching fellowship.

“UNC Charlotte provided me with a solid foundation for a long-term career in the arts,” she says. “I was taught to maintain a strong studio practice and that perseverance is the key to success in the arts. Art is a business – it requires you to promote yourself – and I was taught the essentials of being a professional artist.”

Ashley will participate in the Department of Art & Art History 2015 Biennial Alumni Exhibition. See her work at her website.