Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashlee Cave.
Ashlee, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
When looking back I can’t recall when I first started painting or drawing. Since I can remember I have loved expressing my thoughts and feelings through art. The joy a friend or family member expressed when I would give them something I made special for them, made it to where I just loved creating for people. Something about bringing a thought and creating a piece of art from it is something I have always been fascinated by. As most young adults do, I stopped painting because it was just a hobby and I needed to think about my future and a real career. I ended up going to college to be a social worker who specialized in At Risk Youth, which was great except that kind of job was missing something that I needed filled. Helping people has been another big motivator in my life but in this case, it missed the colorful side of life.
After my husband was sent overseas to Afghanistan, I began to paint again to help express my feelings and get through that deployment. I soon started to paint and draw tattoo designs for his friends in the Army and all-around start taking art more seriously. I grew up scared of needles so I never planned on becoming a tattoo artist even though by this time many people asked.
In 2015, I was able to get my paintings featured in a gallery in Fort Worth named the Milan Gallery. That event was the push I needed to really see that I could stand on my own feet as a woman artist. I love painting but I knew I was way curious about the tool called a tattoo machine. The following August I walked into a tattoo shop and began my apprenticeship. This has been one of the most rewarding and beautiful jobs. I am now almost a 2-year tattooed with clients who not only trust me as an artist but also have become friends and just great experiences. This journey has been up and down but every day I am excited to create and see what amazing people I will meet.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I like to approach tattooing the way I do painting and try and make each piece fit its owner as much as possible. I love to work with custom tattoo pieces that gives more room to get creative energy to flow. When people come in and have somewhat of an idea but can’t put it together and want help drawing them, I can’t help but get super excited to help make their thoughts and ideas something real that the client can see visually. One thing I hope every client takes away from each tattoo big or small, is the that the whole experience is great. Tattoos are permanent and the event of getting tattooed is personal and permanently with a person and I want each memory of each tattoo something good to look back at.
My art as in painting I pour myself into and treat each one the same. I hope to show people a piece of how I see them and show people a piece of me through silent art.
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
Artists today I believe are lucky to have such a big platform like social media to not only boost their art but also learn and get support from other artist. There are many areas that could use work to help all kinds of art become more accepted but I believe we are on a path that is chipping away at stereotypes. YouTube and online groups also have helped artist learn from one another like how to create business plans and show people who is looking for work.
As a female tattooer I have seen people treat my art differently than that of a fellow male tattooers’ and I felt as though I had to push a little harder at times to prove myself. This industry has always been male dominated but over the past almost 10 years, female tattooers have made some noise and I can see the change in just the two small years of personally tattooing. I feel like cities like ours can and do encourage artists to thrive by uniting like minds and making connections. If more smaller cities were able to connect with more established groups in the bigger cities that could just bring more light to local creative minds and talent.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
You can view my tattoos at crashlee_ink on Facebook or Instagram. To book an appointment please email crashlee.ink@gmail.com Painting and Custom paintings please View ArtbyAshlee on Facebook.
Contact Info:
- Email: Crashlee.ink@gmail.com
- Instagram: crashlee.ink
- Facebook: crashlee.ink
Image Credit:
Ashlee Cave
Blake Cave
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