We invite you to meet one of the most talented artists we work with: Ashley Carroll. Here is your chance to learn more about her, her work, and what makes her Cool.
Yestercool: Describe yourself as an artist.
Ashley: I'm what you might call a traditionalist. I started out like anyone does with crayons and pencils. I like the feeling I get working with a pen or graphite. I don't believe I need expensive tools to produce. Ticonderoga No.2 pencils are my bread and butter. If I need more variety and softer and harder leads I just pick up a pack of sketch pencils. I also like to use ball point pens or even white ink gel pens. I also dabble in abstract painting, mostly with acrylic.
I share my baseball art online because I’ve found people react to it and it gives me a way to connect with people. I'm basically shy, but baseball and art are things I will talk someone's ear off about if given a chance. Art has become a way for me to break out of my shell. It gets people talking. And it’s a comfort when I'm struggling or just down. Of course, I draw when I'm happy too.
Yestercool: What is your creative process? How do you like to work?
Ashley: Most of the time I like to draw in bed. I am always looking for images or anything that will spark something in my head. Other times, I am always doodling in the margins of every napkin or paper.
Yestercool: Where you were born, and when did you first become interested in art?
Ashley: I was born in northern Virginia. Our house was seemingly always under construction. I recall mom and dad lifting me up on the rafters and teaching me how to use power tools. I always drew and painted, and was encouraged to get messy.
Ashley: My father is from Baltimore and my mother is a second-generation Cuban. She was always super artistic, so I guess I inherited her talent. Her parents were both architects, so that had some influence as well. Much of my mother's side immigrated when they saw things going south politically. I spent many summers in south Florida visiting aunts and uncles and my grandparents. My grandparents came with nothing but they gave their kids everything, most importantly they instilled the idea of working hard and never feeling entitled. And of being kind to everyone.
Ashley Carroll
My Grandpa loved the Yankees, and would load his five kids in the car and drive up I-95 till he could tune in the game. He would park the Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser and the family would listen to the game. I guess a lot of that rubbed off on me. I consider myself fully American but I also celebrate my roots with pride.
Yestercool: Tell us about why the Michael J. Fox Foundation is important to you.
Ashley: My grandfather had this disease, and as I said, he was a huge part of my life, and why I’m a Yankee fan and a baseball fan. It was devastating to watch him suffer, and frustrating to him to not be able to dress or feed himself. I don't want other families to have to deal with that, so I’m dedicated to doing what I can to help find a cure or treatment.
Follow Ashley on Twitter: YankeeDoodleAsh @Ashley_Dyane