About the Artist

 

   Raised in a small town in Ohio, Ashley Seilhamer grew up in a male centered home where being surrounded by dirt and power tools was normal. This sparked her love of working with her hands and thus the birth of a maker. 

    

    Her real interest of art began when she immersed herself in photography, which lead her to start her B.F.A. in Fine Art, focusing in photography at the University of Cincinnati. While at UC, Seilhamer enrolled in a sculpture class and fell in love. She become immersed in working with her hands and focused on more formal sculptural works at Wright State University where she received her B.F.A. in sculpture in 2010. After obtaining her degree she became a production machine creating over twelve stone carving in one year. With her passion for creating at a high point, she enrolled at Savannah College of Art & Design, where she currently is a M.F.A. candidate in the Sculpture department. Ashley Seilhamer works and resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

     Through out her academic career her work has covered a wide array of themes from more formal and anatomical stone carving to an conceptual series about equality using careers.

 

     Seilhamer has exhibited work in Ohio and Kentucky at various galleries including the Mockbee Gallery, Southgate House, Robert and Elaine Stein Gallery, Experimental Gallery, and TEJAS Gallery.  Also she has exhibited in Georgia at SCAD Open Studio and SCAD at Edelman and even shown In Pedvale, Lativa. She has recently been awarded a residency with the Make Art and Thrive Foundation at the Buena Vista Artist Colony in Preston, Georgia. 

 

 

 

Artist Statement

 

    I am a woman with feminist ideals and have even faced some obstacles due to my gender and other traits, which is what has fueled my most recent conceptual work. But I know that focusing on gender issues is way too small minded, the goal needs to be total equality but delivered in a more manageable, consumable way. My work has moved towards themes of equality and neutralism, focusing on tearing down labels and titles imposed on people and moving attention to the similarities that people have in general.

     

     My product line, Lag Nation emphasizes the importance of equality in all aspects. In this line I have created series of uniforms and tool sets that relate to various careers and tasks. The viewer chooses a set number of utilitarian objects to define themselves and their role in life. By using tools instead of words participants to define themselves with task related objects. Accompanying the line is a coed scouting alternative with a basic set of skills incorporated focusing on a core set of values, named the Pioneers of Valor. The foundation of POV was designed by me, from the uniform to the insignia the scouts can earn. Guiding them is a handbook filled with the values and morals that are the cornerstone of the organization.

     

     In examining equality I have highlighted careers and skills to be the vehicle for the work. Through this branding I am creating merchandise that questions the societal obsession with labels and consumption and the overall dependence on consumerism. As the viewer becomes more aware of the concept, they also develop a better sense of their personal awareness and identity. As my work continues to expand and grow my goal is to explore how stereotypes that manipulate society as well as individuals and to really question why society thrives on being defined by superficial meanings.