We were lucky to catch up with Ashley Taylor recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ashley, sincerely appreciate your selflessness in agreeing to discuss your mental health journey and how you overcame and persisted despite the challenges. Please share with our readers how you overcame. For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
Growing up I really struggled with my mental health. I felt like an outcast and was desperate for validation. People thought I was weird and I remember feeling like I was easy to walk all over. Looking back, I know it’s because I lacked self confidence. I struggled with depression and anxiety. I was teased in school for being ugly, not smart enough and too goofy. I was behind on my reading comprehension skills and was barely keeping up in my math and science classes. I felt like such a loser and a failure. I turned to art to escape from all the horrible thoughts that were constantly consuming my mind. I would draw cute animals and fairies. I also made hemp jewelry and wire beaded jewelry. I found solace in my art. It was my happy place and something I could never grow tired of.
After high school I decided to go to beauty school to become a hairstylist because I didn’t have the confidence to go to college. I felt like I would fail and wasn’t smart enough, not to mention, I had no idea what I would even go to school for since I never thought a career in art was even an option. I did hair for 14 years! It was a good starter career. It helped me grow my confidence. I was pushed to converse with people every single day, multiple times a day which really helped me grow my social skills. I was able to get some sense of creative gratification doing hair, but it wasn’t my true calling and I knew that. During my hair career I sort of accepted the fact that I would probably never feel fully fulfilled in my career because what I truly wanted didn’t seem attainable.
One summer my boyfriend, who is now my husband, and I went on a camping trip. We were sitting by the fire pit drinking beer and got into a really deep conversation about what we wanted in life. I expressed to him that I wasn’t happy doing hair but didn’t know what else I would do. He asked me what was important to me and what kinds of things would help me feel fulfilled. I told him how much I loved animals and art. We had a long conversation about it and he convinced me to consider going to college and change careers and that he would help support me. He’s the best. I felt so inspired in that moment and as soon as we got home from our trip I started making plans to go to a local community college. I’m very much a “do it as soon as I think of it” kind of person, so as soon as I had made up my mind to get a degree I was making it happen.
I enrolled in the community college and was 1 week away from starting when I got the horrible news that my dad had been diagnosed with Glioblastoma, a really horrible type of brain cancer, and that his type would not respond to chemotherapy. Basically, the goal was to keep him alive as long as possible but the outcome was not going to end well. I was so incredibly devastated. My dad and I have always had such a close relationship. He and I would get lunch together nearly every other week. He would come into the salon where I worked and get haircuts and then we would get a coffee together afterwards. We would have long conversations about life and always talked about our business adventures. We would often go see movies and whisper to each other about the movie the entire time, breathing our stinky popcorn breath into each others faces, haha. We loved spending time together. He and I were two peas in a pod. I didn’t know how I could possibly start this whole new life journey in college and career change while he was dying. But he pushed me to do it anyway and he was proud of me for taking charge of my life. I felt like I owed it to him to continue on.
I used college as my coping mechanism. I made it a personal goal to get the best grades I possibly could and do things differently than I did in high school. No more avoiding asking questions in fear of looking dumb. I was determined to excel. It was no easy task, to say the least. I ended up getting diagnosed with ADHD and that really opened my eyes. I was prescribed medicine for it and that changed everything for me. I finally understood that all these years that I believed I was stupid was not true, I just had a different way of learning. Once I finally began to understand myself and my unique needs I really did excel in school. It was such a freeing feeling.
My dad ended up passing away 1 year after his diagnosis. That really destroyed me, but I was so grateful to have school to help distract me. I finished my prerequisites and was able to transfer to the University of Washington where I started taking art classes. I found myself using art as my way to express my feelings and a way to cope with all the hurt I was feeling inside. It was my saving grace. It was the start of me taking an art career more seriously. Life felt so short and unpredictable, I knew I had to at least try to take my life in a direction that brought me joy, otherwise it felt so purposeless. I had to go through all of that pain to get to where I am now.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I create ceramic cats! I create cat art because they are my favorite animal and bring me so much joy and laughter. They seem to do the same for so many others all over the world. I love having a community of cat people who follow along with my art journey. Just a bunch of like minded people all in one place. It’s the best!
I make my ceramic cats as one of a kind pieces. I don’t make multiples of the same design. I find making them all different makes them so much more special to me and to the person who gets to take them home. I like to name them and come up with little personality traits so when people purchase them it’s like they are adopting a little ceramic pet.
They can be very hard to get your hands on because I make small batches and have an extremely high demand! So when people do finally get their hands on one it feels even more special!
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?
1. Reliance. I have learned over time that breaking into the art industry comes with a lot of criticism. You have to be able to constantly remind yourself that your art is not made for everyone. Art is so subjective and some people might absolutely hate what you make, while others will think it’s the best thing ever created. Being able to not take criticism personally is key. It’s not always easy to avoid getting defensive, but no matter what, you usually can’t convince someone to like what you make when their mind is already made up. It’s not worth your time or energy. Just keep making what brings you the most joy and naturally like-minded people will follow.
2. Ability to say no.
Having the ability to say no is one of the most important skills you can have. When you are just starting out you will get people who will try and push you into making certain things or to make more faster. You are an artist, not a mass production company. If you are creating your own art business then you have to remind yourself that you have the freedom to say no if it doesn’t fit into your work/life balance and you don’t have to make things that don’t bring you joy. As soon as you start giving into what everyone is telling you to do that’s when you hit burnout and what was once a passion project will begin to morph into work. It kills the creativity. You have control, not everyone else.
3. Eagerness to learn.
You should never assume you know everything. There is always room to grow and learn. That’s how you become a better artist. Art is ever changing. Don’t stop learning new skills and techniques.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
Last year I felt overwhelmed nearly every day. I was constantly stretching myself too thin and overloading my schedule. I decided this year I would spend more time focusing on a better work/life balance. I was so used to the “go, go, go” mentality from when I worked in customer service. I felt like I needed to be busy at all times or I wasn’t doing enough to have a successful business. While, some of that is true when you first start out, it’s also true that you need to take time to focus on yourself and a healthy work/life balance. If you neglect yourself fully then you will be so burned out and tired and that will bleed into your performance at work. More mistakes are made when you are stretched too thin.
Something I have done for myself is set specific hours that I am allowed to do work related things. I have an 8 hour work schedule with an hour for a lunch break. Once those hours are up I have to get out of the studio and not answer emails. I am not perfect and don’t always follow this rule. There are definitely times where I work on the weekends and answer emails too late in the evening when I don’t have to, but I try to only do that if I want to, not feel obligated to.
I have also started incorporating physical movement into my weekly routine. I started going to yoga 4 days per week and walk on my treadmill or go for a walk 1 day per week. It helps me stop working since I have to be at my yoga class at 6pm and it’s how I wind down for the day. It’s helped my body so much. My shoulders, wrists and hands aren’t in constant pain anymore. I feel strong and I have more mental clarity. I used to hate working out, but once I discovered a form of working out that I enjoy it doesn’t feel so hard to stay consistent with.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.juneandgem.com/
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