Ashley Clarke (she/they) is an invisibly-disabled artist and art educator based out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, on Treaty 6 territory. She holds a B.A. in Studio Art and a B.Ed. in Visual Art Education from a dual degree program at the University of Regina, as well as a M.Ed. in Educational Technology and Design from the University of Saskatchewan. She has been in the art world in a variety of capacities for over 20 years, with experience gained from working in art galleries, freelance art and design, international teaching, traditional K–12 teaching, and online course development and teaching.

Ash feels most at home in responding to their own internal world, creating work that combines illustrative and painterly styles, darkness and levity, and a happy dose of nonsense. Each piece is a reflection informed by lived experience with chronic pain, mental wellness challenges, and isolation/solitude, occasionally dipping into the external world when the mood strikes. They typically create using acrylics or digital drawing, but enjoy India ink, metal leaf, and watercolour as well.

Ash’s work has been described as “sinister but sunny,” featuring vivid and punchy colours, bold outlines, and text/image combinations that are disjointed and seem to make little sense. While the creativity stems from places that can be uncomfortable, the visuals have a cheerful and fun (but strange) energy to them. Creating expressive, symbolic, nonsensical pieces helps her to process life and work through “bad brain days.” 

Outside the studio, Ash can often be found gaming, reading, gardening, learning languages, and befriending every neighbourhood kitty that strolls through their yard.