WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.000 This is Dabalon. 00:00:05.680 --> 00:00:12.220 My name is Trent Reynolds and in this podcast, I have conversations with artists about materials. 00:00:14.580 --> 00:01:18.560 If you are enjoying this podcast and want it to continue, please subscribe or make a one-time contribution at dabalon.com/podcast. That is D-A-B-B-L-E-O-N.com/podcast. forward slash podcast. Leave a five-star rating on iTunes and tell all your friends. The longevity of this program very much depends on your support, and I thank you. In this episode, I am talking with Ashley Benton. who I could have sworn I had a common friend with. But turns out I'm just a fan. I've been following her on Instagram for a long time. Her character sculptures are a perfect blend of adorable, silly, and soulful. I had anticipated talking with Ashley about ceramics, but not so. She's a fellow dabbler. and here is my conversation with artist Ashley Benton. 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:23.600 A brief history of Ashley Benton. 00:01:23.820 --> 00:01:59.980 Brief history. I'm born in Atlanta, Georgia, and went to school in Savannah, Savannah College of Art and Design, and that's where I live now. Okay. Yeah. After college, I moved out to Colorado for... really about 20 years. I came back to Georgia for a couple years when I was first a single parent and my son was about two, but now he's 22 and he goes to SCAD also. He's He's just, he's going to my, the same school I went to. And, um. 00:02:00.380 --> 00:02:02.980 Is he in ceramics as well, or did he choose a different path? 00:02:02.980 --> 00:02:14.280 He's not. So he went into fashion design and it's a pretty tough program at SCAD for fashion design. It's really competitive. I mean, the school in general is, is hard. 00:02:14.440 --> 00:02:15.900 It's challenging. Yeah. 00:02:15.900 --> 00:02:43.400 So he's kind of waffling between a couple majors right now that he's supposed to choose. I think he has to really make a decision this week, but industrial design or fashion management, I'm not sure which one he's going to do. But I just want him to graduate. as any good parent would like just finish yeah so you were you were in colorado for 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:48.100 for 20 years did uh why colorado why did you choose there that's a pretty big leap from 00:02:48.100 --> 00:03:12.660 i know yeah i just so growing up we would go skiing and um we went to different places in colorado We probably went maybe four or five times. And then my good friend in college said, I'm moving to Colorado after I graduate. And she graduated a year after I did. So I had stuck around in Savannah because I had a job restoring antique rugs. 00:03:14.220 --> 00:03:14.720 And... 00:03:32.900 --> 00:04:08.000 drove around, drove all the, drove to California and up the coast to Oregon, Washington, and then drove back across the country. And I decided to move and go stay with, and my friend was in Breckenridge. And so we went there and I ended up in this little town called Paonia, which is Western Slope. And that's where I pretty much raised for, I was there for 12 years of the 20. Yeah. And my son was born in, in a. He was born in a steamboat actually, but in a hundred year old cabin. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:10.460 Oh my goodness. That's a good story. 00:04:10.460 --> 00:04:28.500 Yeah. I worked at a performing arts camp and we lived there for the year that he was born. So he was born in December in the snow, not because we couldn't get to the hospital, but because I had a midwife. And so he was born there at the cabin on the camp. 00:04:28.500 --> 00:04:29.380 - Awesome. 00:04:29.380 --> 00:04:54.220 - Yeah. - We've had our, the second, I have four daughters, our second two were born at home with a midwife. My wife read these stories of Scandinavian women, I believe, that gave birth in the, like in freezing cold ocean water. - Yeah. - Have you ever heard these stories? - No, but it sounds good. - That's hardcore. - Does she do it? - I was just thinking like out in the snow, like. 00:04:54.220 --> 00:04:57.340 - I know, right? I don't like to be called. 00:04:57.680 --> 00:05:12.300 No, I don't either. I don't think that seems like a pretty rough way to come into the world. It kind of does. So did you feel at home in Colorado? You must have to some degree if you wanted to stay there that long. 00:05:12.300 --> 00:05:57.900 Yes and no. I've always, always, always wanted to come back to Savannah just because I felt like that was where I was supposed to end up. But I did enjoy my time in Colorado. I lived in a little town where I live was very small, but it's a small town is like kind of dreamy and wonderful. But it's also has some weird stuff about it as well. Yeah. that it's just too small it was just too small you know and also trying to make art and sell art and get it out there it was it was um kind of just too far from everything even just from Denver it was like four hour drive so and this was of course pre-internet so you didn't 00:05:57.900 --> 00:06:14.200 didn't have as ready access. Well, no, I'm not saying it's pre-internet. I'm saying it's like- Not that old. Before, was it not before like just the way it is? I feel like the way it is now has only existed for like five years. 00:06:14.200 --> 00:06:35.860 Yeah, I think, I mean, yes. I, yeah, you're kind of right about that. I think there was a time when, so I spent probably three or four years doing the whole like art tour thing in the white van, you know, to outdoor festivals. And that mostly was a great way to get me out of Paonia, the little town where I was living. 00:06:36.280 --> 00:06:37.420 I could sell art. 00:06:38.140 --> 00:07:05.160 I was meeting a bunch of different people and meeting different artists and other like gallery owners and shop owners. And so it was a lot of fun for a while. And there used to be pretty decent money in it, you know. But it isn't without its challenges. I mean, it's hard work to drive and set up and... I was doing it by myself and the money kind of went out of that like they're just it just kind of, for me at least. 00:07:05.720 --> 00:07:06.220 Right. 00:07:08.140 --> 00:07:17.300 And, and at that time were you, you're kind of all over the place. It sounds like you were doing painting and then you're restoring rugs. 00:07:17.300 --> 00:07:19.000 Yeah. What? 00:07:19.300 --> 00:07:24.720 That was, yeah, that was like my job, right? So right out of college, I got this job. 00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:27.340 Oh, and you're at a performing arts camp. 00:07:27.720 --> 00:07:28.220 I know. 00:07:28.100 --> 00:08:23.600 Well, I was trying to kind of figure out, before I had my son, I did a bunch of different stuff, just trying to figure out, I was just trying to make art. You know, I just wanted to keep a studio. I had a professor in school and he said, most of you will never, when you graduate, you will never paint again. And I think there was like this, something went off like challenged me I was like yeah I'm going to keep painting and so I don't know I was just determined he was like if you quit you probably won't ever go back to it so just make sure you always have a studio or a spot anywhere in your house or and so I just always kind of did that And I just knew, I don't know, I guess I just had some sort of idea that this is what I do and eventually it's going to work. So I did a bunch of different stuff like waited tables, answered phones. 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:25.180 you know, taught art. 00:08:26.060 --> 00:08:48.780 The teaching at the performing arts camp was just a summer position. And that only became difficult because I had a home and I had to find someone to rent my house every time I left. And, you know, it's just, you know, picking up and going somewhere for three months and then coming back just got kind of, I just got tired of it. 00:08:49.300 --> 00:08:50.140 Got it. Yeah. 00:08:50.520 --> 00:08:54.780 So in school, were you primarily working in paint or were you? 00:08:55.240 --> 00:09:55.460 Yeah. Well, yeah. I mean, my major, my degree was painting. And SCAD at that time was really small. We kind of all knew each other. My graduating class only had 11 people graduating that were in the painting department. You know, now there's probably a couple hundred that graduate or more. I'm not even sure. So it's just a really different environment. You know, the teachers, the professors, we all knew each other. Like, a baby sat for my painting professor. It was a really small community. It was kind of nice. But we had a lot of room to experiment, do whatever we wanted. And I also went to University of Georgia with the goal of getting a master's in sculpture, but then I really just ended up taking some classes that I enjoyed, and then I bailed on that idea. 00:09:57.860 --> 00:10:04.720 Yeah, just... really just financial, I guess. It was kind of, you know. 00:10:05.420 --> 00:10:07.500 How did you get from painting to sculpture? 00:10:08.740 --> 00:10:59.040 Well, I've always been interested in sculpture, but when I got to SCAD, my original plan, my dad was like, you can go, I will help you go to art school, but you have to get a degree that you can get a job with. And I was like, okay, I'll be an illustrator. I'll do illustration. But, you know, like partway two years into it, I was like, I really want to be in that painting department. And so I switched. But unfortunately, like the president of the college at the orientation had said, we guarantee jobs for every major except college. for painting and my dad looked at me and was like, you're not a painting major. So he wasn't super excited when I switched my, you know, switched my major and he was like, wait, what happened? That's his one condition. 00:10:59.300 --> 00:11:00.160 That's the only. Yeah. 00:11:00.260 --> 00:11:14.020 And I was like, guess what? But so I, so I went to painting, but I really wanted to make sculpture. That was, that's always been my, I've always wanted to build stuff. So, yeah. like bronze casting I love and welding. 00:11:15.180 --> 00:11:25.980 So when you were, when you were painting, were you, you had it in the back of your mind? Like I kind of went ahead and, or you wanted to do sculpture, but you couldn't quite see how to fit that into this narrative with your dad and. 00:11:26.720 --> 00:12:08.420 Right. And with, and just with my degree, you know, I, it was pretty much, um, you know, painting. And so that's why I did go to University of Georgia because I thought, okay, I'll just continue this and I'll just get a master's. But I don't know. I don't know why I didn't do it eventually. It seems like it's money, but... I think it was also just more time. And I think I thought, well, I'll just do it on my own, you know, explore. But I didn't pick up ceramics until... I mean, I got kind of sidetracked because I had a son. So things got a little bit, you know... wiggly for a while. 00:12:08.920 --> 00:12:10.640 Right. Kids will do that. 00:12:11.280 --> 00:12:12.920 Yeah. And I can't believe 00:12:12.920 --> 00:12:14.900 you have four girls. I can't 00:12:14.900 --> 00:13:44.840 either. So yeah, I didn't really start ceramics until seven years ago. I can't remember. There was an artist that I always loved her work and she's from Atlanta and I used to see her at the Piedmont Park Arts Festival when it was like a ten day long festival in the park and It was always everybody look forward to it. It was just, you know, we could go and hang out there all day and, and it was, but they don't really they don't do that anymore now it's just like three three days or something but I saw her work there and she was that artist. Her name is Deborah Fritz. And she lives in Abiquiu, New Mexico now. She moved, she and her husband. But I did two workshops with her. And then after that, I kind of just went, started figuring it out on my own. Because I didn't know how to fire people. I didn't know how to do any of it. And her workshops are really just a hand-building class. We didn't really talk too much about firing. Like, we did it at a studio, and they fired it for us. You know, and it just came back magically fired. So I had no... I just was a little bit overwhelmed by that whole process because glazing, I think... could be, you could get an entire degree in just learning how to mix glaze and how it works. 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:54.200 - And that is a kind of ceramicist, right? There are some people that are into ceramics for the chemistry. They love the-- - Yeah. the alchemy of it, right? 00:13:54.260 --> 00:14:03.920 Yeah, yeah, definitely. And I admire that because I don't have the, I think I don't have the patience for it, honestly. I'm just not that technical. 00:14:06.400 --> 00:14:08.100 Yeah, I'm not that technical. 00:14:08.560 --> 00:14:27.920 So the ceramics, when you started doing, taking classes or started working with it, was there a feeling that you had found your medium or... or was it just kind of a means to an end? Could you just as easily have started using Sculpey or, or, you know, some oil clay or something? Oh, 00:14:28.140 --> 00:14:35.700 yeah. Well, I, for a, even in, um, I'm trying to think. So even in, um, um, 00:14:36.700 --> 00:14:37.200 um, 00:14:36.700 --> 00:14:53.860 my undergrad work. I made these sculptures out of like chicken wire and tracing paper. And I dipped them in this stuff called Roplex, which is basically like a heavier duty version of gel medium. My dad, 00:14:54.680 --> 00:14:55.180 uh, 00:14:54.700 --> 00:15:34.720 My dad was a manufacturer's rep for pigments and dyes that went into paints and makeup and all kinds of stuff. He would give me all these samples of all this stuff he had. I had all these iridescent powders and stuff. And so he came home one day with this. like five gallon bucket of Roplex. And he was like, I think you can use this to paint with, or I don't know if you want to try it. And I was like, sure. So I would be like up to my elbows and this stuff, like dipping, tracing paper and wrapping it. And I don't know if it was, it was the late eighties. And I'm not sure we were thinking about that stuff. 00:15:35.620 --> 00:15:38.180 Not quite clued into the chemicals. 00:15:39.060 --> 00:15:40.480 Not at that point. Yeah. 00:15:40.860 --> 00:15:41.360 Um, 00:15:40.900 --> 00:17:09.820 I mean, maybe someone was, but I sure wasn't. So I did make these, like, I made these figurative floral sculptures that hung on the wall. And they were in my senior show when I graduated. And then I continued doing that when I went to school in Athens. And I did it, I would mix, like, plaster and wood glue and basically made my own type of paper mache, if that makes sense. It was, like, the same type of thing. I could dip fabric in it or paper. Yeah. or wire, and I would build sculptures that way. They've always been figurative, but they were like these weird blobby, like they would have legs, but they looked more floral after the legs, where the hips would be and the rest of the body. I guess I got to ceramics because... I felt like I wanted something a little more long, maybe have longevity, I guess. Like the paper mache stuff, I wasn't sure how well it would hold up. And now I've started to work my way backwards towards it using like paper clay and... I'm trying to kind of revisit some of those techniques that I was using and move away from firing because that's a whole schedule too. You know, that's another thing you have to, it's not instant, I guess. 00:17:09.820 --> 00:17:15.400 So the firing to you is more a barrier, like an impediment than it is, you know, an impediment. 00:17:15.400 --> 00:18:26.380 part of the process? Yeah, I mean, I'm not sure if it's a barrier. It's just that I haven't quite figured out how to build the pieces that I want out of clay. I think I do, I did just, I just took a glass casting workshop over the weekend. And I think probably, I mean, my hope is to move towards more mixed media sculptures instead of only ceramic. So possibly I could build the legs out of paper mache and plaster, something that's a little lighter. But then, you know, maybe the head or the shoulders up is ceramic instead. I don't know. You know what I mean? Like, I love all material. Like, I guess I like all materials. And really, I've only been working in ceramics now for a while. And it might be limiting me. So I'm not sure the kiln actually limits me. I think it's more the material itself. I just... I like to change it up. 00:18:27.360 --> 00:18:28.240 Totally get it. 00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:43.100 You know, and there's just so many, you know, like paper clay and glass and plaster just and glue, you know, and paper and it's all, you can put it all together and make stuff. 00:18:43.100 --> 00:19:20.260 Yeah. I think for some artists, it seems like they find a medium and it's a relief almost to be able to have that decision made, right? Yeah. Yeah. And there's a lot of creativity that can be had within that limitation just of the medium. But I think there definitely are also artists, and I find myself in this camp that the material exploration is an important part of the the creating, right? And yeah, I get kind of discontent if I spend too much time doing one, one thing with one material. 00:19:21.060 --> 00:20:02.740 Yeah. I think that's where, I mean, I guess you're just because of the timing you're catching me at that point where I'm like, Oh, I'm ready to make a switch. But it's also like how I was, you know, living in Colorado. I was like, it's time to go, you know, now it's time to go back to Georgia or, um, So, I do love the ceramics and there's certain qualities, there's certain aspects of it that really I can't get with my painting, you know. Like, the switch from painting to ceramic was kind of about being able to realize the figures I was making in my paintings a little more in depth. 00:20:04.440 --> 00:20:05.000 But... 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:11.340 So tell me about the figures. What's up with the character? What's up with... 00:20:11.340 --> 00:20:11.840 I know. 00:20:12.080 --> 00:20:16.800 It's not one character, but there's definitely a kinship between the characters. 00:20:16.800 --> 00:20:49.360 I know. And sometimes everyone says that. And so none of it is... It's not really... None of them are planned. At this point, there are pieces that I repeat because I have... customers that order you know certain pieces and I just make them over and over and over again I only do that with a certain number of of pieces I don't do it with everything so there's still some one-of-a-kind pieces and there's still the wholesale pieces I guess That's sort of my bread and butter. 00:20:50.840 --> 00:20:59.640 Is there something that motivates these characters? Is there a feeling that you're after or an expression or an idea? 00:21:00.780 --> 00:22:01.200 Well, I like to say they just come from the impressions that... you're left with just from living, you know, from living life. Like we, our nervous system is essentially like a sponge that just everything attaches to it. You know, every experience, be it good or bad, you know, so, um, is kind of, it's like imprinted on you, you know, and, um, And so I just usually start working and then I'll start thinking of something and I just kind of explore that thought usually or that's how the story gets created, I guess, is because I remember a book I read or a poem or a conversation. Usually it's conversations I've had or experiences or... 00:22:26.700 --> 00:22:50.660 did you ever get new shoes and like put them on and go run and run in the park? Everybody did. Right. And so, um, so, you know, I have things like pieces like that, that I make, but then sometimes I just, um, they, you know, I have a story that, a dialogue that just starts happening between me and the pieces I make it. And I don't know where it comes from. 00:22:51.180 --> 00:23:27.160 Well, there's, there's this kind of artifact feeling to them. Like, the way that they're aged or some of them are agitated, you know, the surfaces and some of them are partial, you know, they're missing arms or, you know, or just a head, you know. Yeah. So there's, for me, the aesthetic ties into this, you know, kind of discovering bits and pieces of sculpture from antiquity, right? Yeah. They've gone through the ringer of history. Right. Passed through some decades in the dirt, you know? 00:23:27.420 --> 00:23:56.100 Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's exactly like that's – you could write my artist statement really with that. I mean, like that's – I want them to have that weathered look. I want them to have that look that they've lived some sort of life and that maybe I found them. Like I even named some of them from the woods, like as if I found them. So do you know Stephen DeStabler? He has work around San Francisco. I don't even know if he's still alive. 00:23:56.520 --> 00:23:59.600 I definitely know the name. I've quoted him before. 00:23:59.600 --> 00:24:36.800 what is yeah his work is like um kind of like these broken fragmented figures like it'll be like one leg coming out of like these chunks of um well i guess they could be bronze or and then like you'll have like one wing yeah so i've always loved his work and um Because it has that relic feel like it's been found somewhere and tells a story of maybe some sort of culture that we didn't know about or that it's been discovered. 00:24:37.280 --> 00:24:53.740 What is it about that feeling? Is it like tying yourself to a larger human story? Is it the feeling... Like the feelings or the narratives inside you are bigger and older than you are and getting that feeling? 00:24:54.220 --> 00:25:16.100 Kind of. I mean, it goes back to just what I was saying is like I'm so interested in... I'm so interested in like how every experience shapes who we are. But at the same time, we're not supposed to let those experiences shape who we are. Does that make sense? Like, 00:25:16.100 --> 00:25:17.360 Wait, say that again. I'm not sure. 00:25:17.540 --> 00:25:42.460 So like everything that we experience shapes us, right? Like it helps, like it shapes your personality or your preferences or your qualities, you know? But at the same time, we're supposed to just live in this present moment and not be affected by our past, like not drag our past into our current moment. 00:25:42.680 --> 00:25:43.200 Mm-hmm. 00:25:43.200 --> 00:26:35.520 And so, but I think that's really hard to do. Like, I think it's really, especially for people who have experienced like, like really intense, you know, trauma or anything, you know, how do you not drag that with you everywhere you go? But, but I think it's possible. I guess in the end. So it's kind of like my pieces, people say they make me sad, but then they're like, but then I feel kind of okay. And that's how I want it to be is that they invoke like some sort of nostalgia, but then... And it might even be sad. It can be happy, but that everything's okay. You know, it's still... Like, everything works out. 00:26:36.380 --> 00:26:49.200 Right. I mean, that's just kind of like... I think that's interesting. Like, it's almost... this is me, but it's the old me. Like this is, this is what used to be, or this is what did happen, but I'm not that anymore. 00:26:49.600 --> 00:27:06.000 Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think, cause and even a lot of my titles kind of suggest that, and I don't know if I could say like, this is why I do that. Like, I don't, I'm not sure I have an answer. I think it's just, it's just what I do. Right now, right now. 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:21.200 But there's, there's definitely, it seems like there's a through line in your paintings. There's a, there's an aesthetic through line. Like it seems like you're looking for something or scratching an itch or, you know, like this thing is. 00:27:22.140 --> 00:28:00.880 I, yeah, I, I mean, I totally agree. And I think it's interesting. Yeah. to me because I'm always like, why did I do that? You know? And I don't actually always have the answer for why I did it. I just did it. And, you know, I don't always know. Like when some, I heard someone say like they asked Bob Dylan where his inspiration came and he was like, I don't know, but if it, if it quits, I don't know what I'll do. You know, the quits coming, what am I, what's going to happen? But yeah, And I kind of feel that way too, but I also know that I'm still living a life. So last week is still there. 00:28:02.400 --> 00:28:07.020 That sounds like a great music album. Last week is still there. 00:28:08.580 --> 00:28:11.220 I'm not a musician, but I wish I was. 00:28:11.220 --> 00:29:17.580 Yeah. Maybe that's just something you haven't... Ah, yes. I want to be a drummer. I can see you making drums. So, well, I think that is one of the things I feel least... Or that was the biggest disservice about my education is this... this pressure that school puts on you to try to define what you're doing either in the moment or before you actually do anything, right? It's like to justify what it is or to place yourself in some kind of art historical context or, you know, some contemporary context. And it's almost debilitating because you have to have a reason for what you're doing, right? Whereas that's not really how humans are. It's like we just do stuff. But that being said, you've lived life. You've had experiences. Have there been moments where you've been able to see in retrospect patterns or meaning that has been there that you've only been able to see after? Yeah. after time has passed? 00:29:17.800 --> 00:29:22.440 I mean, I'm always kind of sitting and thinking like, okay, how did I get here? 00:29:23.240 --> 00:29:24.000 You know? 00:29:24.940 --> 00:30:04.100 And if I had made that other decision, you know, what would have happened? I love thinking that. But, and those, that's sometimes, that's the story is like, what if I had gone there instead of, you know, what I actually chose but I mean I think if you look back at my work from in the past like 10 years that there's a through line and it's changed but it still is all just telling stories and little moments that you know I like little surprises or um searching for that one little thing that makes something unique. 00:30:05.020 --> 00:30:06.680 So I don't know. 00:30:07.040 --> 00:30:08.520 There's a silliness in the work, right? 00:30:08.700 --> 00:30:09.540 Totally, yeah. 00:30:09.820 --> 00:30:59.940 And I am always, I think that's what draws me to your work, or one of the biggest things, is this confluence, or these two things being side by side, this kind of gravity of history, right? and of a relic or an artifact in the aged, agitated, like life lived, positioned right next to or combined with this kind of whimsy and silliness. Like there's something to that contrast and tension that I find interesting. I don't know, I find very satisfying or funny and heartbreaking at the same time. Like it's that those tensions that I find, I don't know, so compelling about your work. But do you feel like there's a role of silliness or of whimsy or how would you describe what it is? 00:31:00.620 --> 00:32:25.540 It's not silly on purpose. Yes. But I do think one way out of almost anything is just finding humor or being able to chuckle at it a little bit or smile. You know, it's like my dad would just say, just smile, even if it's, you know, you're in like the worst moment. Just, you know, and it does kind of help. I think. So I do think there's a real sort of sadness about my work. I mean, my mom recently called and said, I'm trying to remember which piece it was now. And she said, I'm concerned about her. Like, what? I think, I don't know. I mean, we all struggle, right? We all struggle. We're all, no one is without struggle, I don't think. But, I mean, if they are, it's amazing. But we just can't let that be what guides the ship, you know? I mean, we have to, like, find the lightness, you know, or the humor or find the... like that just to keep going, you know, just find some, the effort, you know, to 00:32:25.540 --> 00:33:05.720 keep living life, I guess. It's that, I don't know, redemptive is the word that comes to my mind is like that silliness is, there's a redemptive redemptive feeling about it. Like life is hard and like 99% of the time, but then there's that little bit of light, you know, that little bit of levity that just makes it all worth it. You know, like that's the little slice of, of humanity or something, you know, that kind of redeems or justifies the whole, uh, all the, uh, hard or the difficult. I don't know. Yeah. No, I mean, I kind of projecting on that. 00:33:06.220 --> 00:33:45.600 Well, I think that's true. And there's, it's, it's like our human nature is to want more of that redemptive quality instead of just finding that little sliver, like at the end of each day, you know, just like that one little thing that made the day okay. you know, or whatever. I mean, that's what I'm, it's just kind of a goal for me is just to not always have that need for more, you know, to just kind of be like, it's kind of okay the way it is. It's just not, I mean. I think that right there is lovely. Like 00:33:45.600 --> 00:35:01.320 it's kind of okay. Yeah. There's something to that. That's what it, I don't know. I think there's something to that sentiment that I think comes through in your work. And I think I find that just really meaningful. Yeah. Well, thank you. Have you ever heard of the artist Alfredo Castaneda? He's a painter. I don't know. I think you might enjoy his work. He's he kind of comes out of the Mexican muralist tradition, but he's got these paintings. They're all self portraits. But it's it's him in different scenarios and they're kind of absurd. And there's a lot of kind of visual pun and very illustrative. But I there's a similar kind of feeling in his work. work. I was curious. And then the other kind of reference that I was curious to ask about was there's this kind of like Mexican wrestlers. Oh yeah, for sure. The masks, you know, there's this kind of seriousness and gravity and also silliness, like you remember about it? Yeah. Is there a little? Would that be? Yes. I don't know if that's a reference. No, it is. The Leech Adores. That's what I was curious about. Yeah, the Leech Adores. 00:35:01.680 --> 00:35:07.680 Yeah. No, I love the wrestling. I grew up watching that. 00:35:10.920 --> 00:35:44.420 I would say to my dad, this isn't real, right? Yes, it is. It's a real thing. There's no way. There's no way. I think he just loved to make it seem like, I don't know. He was just playing with me. But I don't know what it is. I have something about masks and hats and I don't wear hats myself, but if I could walk around in a bunny hat all day long, I probably would, but I just don't. 00:35:45.420 --> 00:35:49.200 You've got some killer masks happening on your... 00:35:49.980 --> 00:36:05.660 I know. Every Halloween, I'm like, I'm just going to make one of my pieces as a big head that I can wear around. Not ceramic, but make it in paper mache or something, or just make five of them and have friends all wear them. Oh, totally. I've never done it. Yeah. 00:36:06.280 --> 00:36:06.900 One day. 00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:16.380 All right. I'm taking a lot of your time already, but just a couple more questions for you. I would like to try out some new questions. Favorite art book? 00:36:17.700 --> 00:36:20.340 Oh, well, The War of Art is good. 00:36:20.780 --> 00:36:22.120 Yes, it is so good. 00:36:22.260 --> 00:36:24.820 I love that one. It's a good one. You've got to revisit that one every once in a while. 00:36:25.200 --> 00:36:41.440 Mm-hmm. Favorite art material you think everybody should try? Okay. wax wax cold wax hot wax uh well both but beeswax yeah beeswax for sure yeah yeah 00:36:41.440 --> 00:36:46.480 or the or microcrystalline the brown wax that you can sculpt with that's great 00:36:46.480 --> 00:36:50.200 what have you done with wax 00:36:50.200 --> 00:37:07.300 well when I did the I did a bronze casting class so we made everything in wax I love that and then I used to paint in caustics I used to use a bunch of wax and I love like dipping paper in wax and then stacking it on top of each other yeah 00:37:07.300 --> 00:37:33.060 Yeah, I was wax for me. It seems like kind of what like I was worried about the longevity and I had a couple experiences where like the the wax got brittle and kind of started breaking apart so like I think if I My heart wants to stay with wax, but I moved to resin because it's got the physicality, but I think it's... 00:37:33.060 --> 00:37:47.320 I did the same. It's more rigid. I did the same. Yeah. I did the same thing because I heard some story about somebody that bought an encaustic painting and put it in their trunk, and when they got home, they lifted it out of the trunk and the painting slid off of the support. 00:37:47.700 --> 00:37:49.100 Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. 00:37:49.100 --> 00:37:53.220 You know, it's like, I was like, oh, right. That can happen. 00:37:53.220 --> 00:37:55.100 So horrific to me. Yeah. 00:37:55.100 --> 00:38:10.080 Terrible. And that would be me. Like that would be, so yeah, I went to resin and then I got the resin. I just was like toxin. Yeah. I don't know. Even with the mask, I do wear a mask, but. 00:38:10.080 --> 00:38:14.480 I hear you. Yeah. I'm, I'm concerned about that too, but it's, It's such a compelling material. 00:38:14.780 --> 00:38:19.840 It is. It is. That would be my other. If you can't use wax, use resin. Yeah. 00:38:20.160 --> 00:38:20.660 Me too. 00:38:21.520 --> 00:38:25.240 Artists that you like that you're not supposed to like. 00:38:26.140 --> 00:38:26.640 Oh. 00:38:28.120 --> 00:38:32.800 Huh. I don't know. Do you have anything like that? I don't. 00:38:52.300 --> 00:38:54.860 you know, or like that is somehow outside. 00:38:54.980 --> 00:38:56.580 Okay. Maybe Klimt. 00:38:57.240 --> 00:38:57.740 Klimt. 00:38:58.080 --> 00:39:03.920 Maybe Klimt. Just because they put him on all the book bags and everything. And then I was like, oh, really? 00:39:04.260 --> 00:39:06.500 He's too cool. They ruined him. 00:39:06.660 --> 00:39:07.900 They ruined him. Yeah. 00:39:08.500 --> 00:39:10.700 Yeah. He's really. It's fantastic. Yeah. 00:39:11.000 --> 00:39:31.800 Well, I am so curious to see what other materials you get into. And I was assuming, I guess, I was thinking, just because I've seen so much of your ceramics that you were, you know, all ceramics all the time. But I... I would love to see this work filtered through the other materials as well. 00:39:32.280 --> 00:39:45.340 I know me too. I just, it's just a matter of like you got to wrap your head around like how to, for me it's like, it's got to stand up and not fall over and you know, not fall apart. Yep. 00:39:45.900 --> 00:39:54.300 Ashley thank you so much for spending some time thank you a lot of fun to talk and hear about your work 00:39:54.300 --> 00:39:57.140 yeah it was fun nice talking to you 00:39:57.140 --> 00:40:03.620 hopefully life will provide another opportunity to chat again sometime 00:40:03.620 --> 00:40:07.200 for sure I'll try to put some other pieces together 00:40:07.200 --> 00:41:15.100 Yeah, next time, well, yeah, when you come to the next body of work, if you want to come tell me about it, I'd love it. Thank you, Ashley, for spending some time with me. I really enjoyed meeting you and I hope we get to talk again. You can find Ashley at her website, ashleybentonstudio.com, where you can also buy her work, and you definitely You can also follow her on Instagram as I do at Ashley underscore Benton Arts. All of this information, some images, and a brief biography are also available at the website for this podcast, which is dabalon.com. D-A-B-B-L-E-O-N.com forward slash podcast. Next week, I will have another conversation for you. So come back. Also, rate me on iTunes. Subscribe on the website. And tell your friends and family. And make something this week. And email me a picture of it at dabalon at gmail.com. Go get busy. ♪ 00:41:15.100 --> 00:41:17.160 you