 |
Ashley Randall was born and raised in Bettendorf, Iowa. Ashley has always been creative; her family fostered that ability all along, as her mother is a writer, stepfather is a painter, and her father and stepmother have always been supportive. She attended college at University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University, where she majored in Cultural Anthropology. Her minor was in Design Studies, and she took several studio classes as well as art history classes. After graduation, she married her high school sweetheart, Bruce Randall, and moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in hopes of starting her career as an artist. Once in Phoenix, Ashley started her first job as security in a major museum, where she spent all of her days looking at artwork of both old “masters” and current, up-and-coming artists. Being around so many other creative people has been one of the biggest inspirations for her work and her life. Currently, Ashley is producing more work than she did even when she took studio classes at University of Northern Iowa. She lives happily in Phoenix with her husband, dog, and two cats.
"I’ve always been attracted to fresh ideas, especially when they’re interpretations of ideas that have been around for a long time. I especially love the idea of chain maille, which was used to make armor as long ago as the fourth century BC, now being used in jewelry in the 21st century. As with all other artists, my work is always evolving. I am still surprised that I started out with charcoal and paint, and am now working with wire and beads. I enjoy making jewelry because when I wear a piece that I have created, even if it’s just over a plain white tee-shirt and a pair of jeans, I feel more beautiful. I’ve been working with both chain maille and a wire jig, creating my own links for chains. I love wire. I love that at one point, each of my pieces was nothing more than a long piece of sterling silver or copper wire and maybe a handful of beads. Chainmaking suits my personality because it’s extremely detailed work that requires my full attention. The tools are fairly low-tech, but the results are amazing. Often when I’m trying a pattern that was first developed by someone else, I discover something in my work that creates a totally new chain, different in so many ways from the originals. These are the pieces I treasure most."
|
