Ashley J. Harper

It is my vision and mission to promote light, harmony, healing and connection through the expression of joy, imagination, beauty, and compassion in all that I do.

what strikes me about photography...

is how the camera lens can show us beauty in even the most horrible times and circumstances. The lens focuses our attention. It draws us in from whatever chaos is raging around us, whether physical, emotional or otherwise, and for that fraction of a second blocks out everything but the image we were drawn to.

When I finish a session of shooting, even if my mind is still buzzing with inspiration, any mental turmoil or emotional upheaval I may have had when the session began is calmed. These moments or hours of looking for and at beautiful, unique images leave me refreshed in a way that is hard to describe. I feel cleansed, centered... balanced.

For me, photography is a form of meditation.

what delights me about collage...

is the tactile experience of working with paper, fabric, stencils, three dimensional items and whatever else I can successfully glue to the canvas. Pulling together disparate elements into a harmonious whole charms and inspires me and is an intuitive process that calms and relaxes both my mind and body.

Combining the handwork with digital collage allows me to visually explore the concept of liminal spaces and literally or figuratively blur the boundaries between the mundane and the magical, the every-day and the extraordinary. The idea of moving out of our world into another through an unexpected portal has fascinated me since I first read of Lucy's adventures in Narnia and probably even earlier. 

For me, collage is an immersion in imagination.