An update on the state of Ashley, if you will.
OVERVIEW: Burnt out but that's okay // Valentine's Market // Comicz in da werkz
It probably goes without saying, but it’s been weird navigating the ever-changing online landscape these past few years; I’m trying to make space for myself, somewhere, somehow. I’ve been a long-time reader of blogs, so a blog felt like the most natural way to ~express myself~ with a multitude of possibilities.
Where have I been? What have I been doing? I’ve been nowhere, doing absolutely nothing. I’ve been running on all cylinders for a very long time and finally shattered them beyond repair. Entirely burnt out. There’s not a lot to lose when you’re a pile of ash however, with enough time, something new will grow from the desolation. You could say I’ve been nurturing myself, but what that really looks like is just taking a goddamn break.
I’m handling myself with greater care, and still recovering in a lot of ways. I’d like to find joy in sharing to online spaces again, and I’m hoping it starts here. Or somewhere around here, I’m not that particular.
I often have lots of goals with very little sense of direction. I might go at full speed towards one and it’s in the complete opposite direction of another that’s sitting next to it scribbled down on a list in a notebook I’ll forget about. I don’t know what I’m doing most of the time, but I’m compelled to do things and if it seems within reason, sometimes I do them. It is not a very elaborate or complex process because I have a smooth, parsnip-shaped brain that runs on peanut butter and wilted cabbage. But it’s gotten me this far, so here I am, I keep doing things and cannot be stopped and desperately have to stop myself sometimes.
I hope this clears things up, so please never ask me what I’m doing ever again. Perhaps next time, I will just tell you.
Valentine's Market + More
I’ve always loved Valentine’s Day. It’s rather fleeting though, so you have to catch it in whatever ways you can and hopefully you can carry it with you throughout the year.
✧ In the online store, I’ll be restocking the HEARTBREAK sticker pack and ROMANCE 8x10 print through the end of February. I’ll also have a few new products, like hand-painted keychains and mini original paintings. I'll have a separate post with a lot more details about these-- I will say here though, the new paper I used for the 8x10 print is ~exquisite~ and I'm very excited about it!
✧ You can also catch me at the Valentine’s Day Market at The Beehive (666 S. State Street) on Saturday, February 12th and pick up some cute stuff in person! Erica puts on amazing events and markets for the local community here regularly, so be sure to drop in for some sweet Valentine's fun and yummy vegan treats at Mark of the Beastro!
✧ If you live in the Salt Lake valley, you may have seen that I have some designs in the Local Artist Sticker Machines in a bunch of coffee shops and local businesses, like Quarters Arcade Bar, Alchemy Coffee, Sunset Coffee, Under the Umbrella Bookstore, and many more! You can also purchase my exclusive designs from the sticker machine online right here.
Festoon 2 & 3
My boy Balloon is back in town!!!
Sort of. I’ve got the final two parts of Festoon written, but as a one-woman machine with several broken cylinders, I’m doing my best to slowly draw everything out. Naturally I want to make it look fun & great, but all I really hope for is that it makes you laugh. It’s not a particularly happy or good or even interesting story, but I think I’m very funny so if it doesn’t at least make you laugh or snort or giggle, then I have failed. A failure I will live with, sure, but it will scar me deeply knowing you did not laugh at my boy Balloon and his new cursed-sword companion, Prosciutto.
I think this is the part where, if I had my shit together and/or a marketing team, I’d give you a projected date of when you can read FESTOON instead of just telling you all about this thing I’m making that isn’t actually made yet but it’s BEING MADE I PROMISE— Since I’m full of mostly shit, I don’t have a date for you.
Let’s hope for FESTOON 2 by the end of the year that just started. That sounds… reasonable. Stay tuned?
One-shot Comics & Short Stories
No I cannot help myself, I am full of ridiculous made up stories to tell. Here’s some more comics I’m working on— these are more short-form, one-shot style, and due to their explicit and/or erotic nature will find a home in the Red Light District.
A CORRUPT VISION OF EROS is an exploration of loneliness, sex, death & alchemy. It follows Odessa, a meek and weary girl haunted by visions of a bastardized angelic entity lurking in the school she escaped to for refuge.
Think like, Picnic at Hanging Rock meets Uzumaki. And a dusting of THE ROSE EATERS lore (which, yES I am still working on!! Not to be mysterious but it’s ~redeveloping~ lol)
THE ANTIDOTE is a lighthearted, sexy sword & sorcery encounter between a bohemian snake-bodied lady and a stoic knight seeking her venom for an antidote.
INTERDIMENSIONAL LOVE-SLUG is a cute lil vignette about a homebound space traveller opening a mysterious new sex toy sent to her by her alien girlfriend.
VAMPIRE DEATHMATCH WRESTLING explains itself, slightly. I jumped heavy into professional wrestling this year and my whole world is now wrestling. I don’t know what it is exactly about it, other than the fact that wrestling is literally everything, but the one thing that really sold me on pro wrestling was the vampires in THE BROOD. It’s a short-lived gimmick that I wished lived on forever, hence the creation of this short story about two vampire brothers with a heated feud in a deathmatch wrestling promotion.
It’s about brotherhood, blood, and of course wrestling. I’m really passionate about this one, but I know it’ll test my skills and stretch my limits and I will struggle. But there’s also a tiny fire inside me that burns and whispers “VDW will live and you will laugh and be happy” and I’m gonna try to lean in and listen to it sometimes.
Welp, here you go, that’s what I’ve got to share for now. Uhhhhh bye-bye!
♡ P E A C E ♡