Meet Ashley Gregory

We recently connected with Ashley Gregory and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley, so excited to have you with us today, particularly to get your insight on a topic that comes up constantly in the community – overcoming creativity blocks. Any thoughts you can share with us?
I experience creativity blocks and writer’s block all the time! I see these people that are prolific in their creations and I always wonder if they ever experience a block.

Maybe my brain just works differently. My creativity and ideas for different art projects and writing projects seem to come out of the blue. They just suddenly pop into my head. I can be driving down the road, listening to music, or watching TV; sometimes I’m talking to someone or just looking around a room. Then boom! an idea floods my mind.

My mind will then continue to think about this sudden idea. The idea stays there, no matter what I’m doing, and it speaks to me. “Create me, create me,” it says. The idea grabs hold and doesn’t let go. I try to push it back and go about my daily routine but somewhere in some obscure part of my brain the idea plans itself. It morphs and progresses seemingly on its own. I am aware that it is happening. I try to tell it to stop so I can focus on other things. Sometimes, if I jot the idea down in a notebook, or on a post-it, or any scrap piece of paper then I can get it out of my brain and silence it for just a little bit.

Then, there are times when there’s nothing. That obscure part of my brain that handles the ideas is empty. Completely quiet. Too quiet, because that means there’s more room for worries. I get an itch to fill up that hole again but nothing shows up.

So, I zone out. I play video games. Take walks. Listen to music. Reach out to people I haven’t talked to in awhile. Read books. Watch TV shows and movies. I try to fill that hole with something.

Eventually, BOOM! Something hits me again. It’s a constant cycle. Most of the time I am ok with it. But it means I don’t work well with deadlines.

Accepting that creativity blocks are going to happen is what helped me. Because I know that a new idea will come when I least expect it.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am an artist. I create digital art, mixed media art, and I am a photographer.

I also create books. I self-published 3 children’s books so far. The first book, “Backyard Monarchs”, is a non-fiction book about the life cycle of the monarch butterfly. The second book I wrote and illustrated is called “Boo and U”. It is a kid’s picture book about a ghost named boo. I recently finished writing “Enchanted Elementary: Homework Sucks” This book is a kid’s chapter book about a girl named Clara. She is a new student at Enchanted Elementary. Odd things are going on at this school and she takes it upon herself to figure out what is going on.

The idea for “Enchanted Elementary: Homework Sucks” came out of the constant discussions with my son about why homework was ever invented.

I enjoy making things that are cute and colorful. Things that are fun and make people smile!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think that I am still early in this journey. My skills, qualities, and knowledge of art and being creative changes frequently.

I think it’s important to continue to try new things. It is hard but try to get out of your comfort zone. Do something different, even if you might fail at it. Mess up and learn how to fix it.

Be you. It sounds kind of cheesy. Like one of those motivational posters with the cat just barely hanging on. But just do you. Be the best you that you can be.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
A challenge that I continuously face is that I am very much an introvert. I like to spend time alone working on my various creations. After they are created I need to somehow get people to notice them. Because I would like to earn some money so I can make more things. I’m not very good at marketing and advertising. I am not a “seller”.

I apply for art shows and my pieces get accepted. I drop off the art and sometimes I go to the show openings but sometimes I just can’t make myself go.

This is what I struggle with.

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