THE INSPIRATION PLACE PODCAST
Miriam Schulman:
You’re listening to the Inspiration Place podcast, episode number one.
It’s the Inspiration Place podcast with artist Miriam Schulman. Welcome to the Inspiration Place podcast, an art world inside a podcast, for artists, by an artist where each week we go behind the scenes to uncover the perspiration and inspiration behind the arts. And now your host Miriam Schulman.
Miriam Schulman:
Welcome to the Inspiration Place podcast. I’m your host, artist Miriam Schulman, where I’ll take you behind the scenes of my art business and also share with you disruptors in the art world. We’re going to speak with art industry insiders and take the best business and marketing advice out there, so you can learn how to apply it to your creative business. Today, I’m thrilled to introduce you to a globally recognized pop artists at a pivotal moment in her career. She has been compared to Andy Warhol by the media, noting the similarity in their obsession with pop culture icons and current brands.
Miriam Schulman:
Her vibrant personality and bold art work has been featured in major publications in the United States and abroad, including the New York Times, Vogue, Vanity, Elle, Travel and Leisure, In Style, Detail Magazines, Harper Bizarre and GQ among others. Her art is collected by celebrities and influencers such as Blake Lively and some of the New York Housewives, and most recently she’s been recognized by Forbes as one of the leading business woman in the south. Our guest today has collaborated with major fashion and luxury brands and most recently had a record breaking exhibition at the New York retailer, Bergdorf Goodman’s, where people couldn’t get enough of her no-hold-barred, beautiful, outrageous work.
Miriam Schulman:
What’s so appealing about this artist’s voice and imagery is that it’s outspoken, humorous, and glamorous all at the same time. Her palate is loaded with paint, makeup, glitter, body politics, and witticisms, you wish you had thought of. Her nontraditional approach to marketing her artwork via social media, public relations, and collaboration’s represents a new wave in an industry that is undergoing its own digital revolution. Now, before I introduce you to this rockstar, I do have a warning. I don’t believe in censoring my guests and this artist’s vocabulary is just as colorful and as outspoken as her artwork.
Miriam Schulman:
So if adult language is not your thing, or if there are little ones around, skip on over to episode number two, which is a little bit more PG rated. But if you want to meet an artist who is never shy of daring, please join me in conversation with Ashley Longshore. Welcome to the show, Ashley. I am so glad that you’re here. I am so excited to be interviewing you. I am like a kid at Christmas, just spinning in my chair all day.
Ashley Longshore:
Aw, you’re so sweet.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. So I’m real excited to have you. So thank you so much for joining me today, Ashley.
Ashley Longshore:
Thank you.
Miriam Schulman:
So my first question actually comes from the book. I have to know, did you really break up with a boyfriend because he wouldn’t give you a second chocolate chip cookie?
Ashley Longshore:
No, he actually had a hissy fit and made a batch of cookies. He didn’t like the way they turned out. He flipped them over and threw them out in the yard and I was like, I called U-Haul and got a trailer and was like, “Bye.” I drove her all the way from the Northeast, I don’t want to disclose who it was, from three hours North of New York City all the way to Charleston, South Carolina in one day.
Miriam Schulman:
Wow. All over chocolate.
Ashley Longshore:
Yeah. Come on, get your priorities right.
Miriam Schulman:
Right. Get your priorities straight.
Ashley Longshore:
That’s right.
Miriam Schulman:
Right. Well I really enjoyed your installation at Bergdorf’s. I went there with my mom and my daughter and we really liked it a lot. Since I know you don’t have a lot of time, we’re going to dig right into it.
Ashley Longshore:
I wish I had more time. Time is my most precious commodity right now and I’m getting ready for another big event in the Hamptons. And it’s a 4th of July and my team, everybody’s got five days off, which is wonderful. But it’s like we got to use every second we have. So things are crazy. Thank God.
Miriam Schulman:
So how big is your team? That was one of my questions I wanted to ask you.
Ashley Longshore:
We’ve got about 20 people right now.
Miriam Schulman:
How many?
Ashley Longshore:
20.
Miriam Schulman:
20.
Ashley Longshore:
20, so between the work that I’m doing for my clients, everything at Bergdorf Goodman, pop-up shows I have going on, my art guys, manufacturing products, shipping, meeting with clients, customer service and all that, yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
Wow.
Ashley Longshore:
It’s amazing. And of course I have a whole team of incredible multimedia liaisons that help me execute all of my bedazzle visions for the pieces because the bedazzling takes a lot of time.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay. So you’re like the Reuben’s art studio with your apprentices helping you?
Ashley Longshore:
I mean, it’s no different than Andy Warhol or even the major fashion house where you know, you make up a sketch and then you have these talented seamstresses that are sewing everything and making the idea come to life. I mean, because after all, art is an idea.
Miriam Schulman:
Yes. Yes, absolutely. So speaking of ideas, I do want to talk to you specifically about the Audrey Hepburn series.
Ashley Longshore:
Yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
So to me they evoke a Nefertiti, Egyptian goddess. Was that in your vocabulary? Was that in your intention?
Ashley Longshore:
Absolutely. And I mean, funny enough that you should say that, that the image… I’ve been painting that image for probably 15 or 16 years, and I found this beautiful photograph of Audrey Hepburn that had been taken by Cecil Beaton. And Cecil’s whole inspiration, or Cecil, as they say in the UK, Cecil Beaton was Nefertiti, that long, gorgeous, beautiful neck. I feel like, as women, it doesn’t matter what shape you are, what color you are, where you’re from, there’s this elegance and calmness and beauty of the silhouette of woman.
Ashley Longshore:
And so that’s why I’ve combined this moment of just peacefulness with all these elements of nature. And otherwise, I compulsively paint it because it relaxes me. I mean, I have thoughts that rattle through my head all the time, but you don’t always have the idea that you want to paint. So I have all these different series that I do between Welcome to the Country Club and Ain’t No Love for Them Hoes, or Major Poon Tang Does Not Fly Commercial, mixed with this whole idea of beautiful feminine beauty and surrounding yourself with these gorgeous strong women.
Ashley Longshore:
For me, the world is a very scary place and I like to surround myself with these images that make me feel comfortable. Fortunately in my career, people also want to be surrounded by these images. It makes them feel good too. So I feel really lucky that I’ve got so many clients that are willing to shekel, give me some moola to live with my spirit in their home.
Miriam Schulman:
That’s great. One of the other things that it evokes for me, like the idea of putting so much emphasis on a woman’s throat is that, there’s two things. One, you’re putting emphasis on women should have a voice. Yes. And-
Ashley Longshore:
I don’t really think about her voice that much.
Miriam Schulman:
No, you don’t? That is really the accentuated feature of that portrait is the neck. So the neck, the throat, so the whole idea of you’re putting your neck out, putting your neck out for somebody or-
Ashley Longshore:
I find the most accentuating feature to be like what I’m actually… The headpieces, but look, this is why art is so grand, I can listen to a song and hear nothing but a drum line. Somebody else can listen to a song and hear nothing but a symbol or the lyrics. It’s so amazing how you saying this artwork that long neck and what it represents to you, that is representative of what is in your life and that’s the connectivity of artwork.
Ashley Longshore:
It’s like for me as an art collector, when I’m buying art, it’s about, what is this that I’m relating to that I’m sharing my own life experience with. And that’s why this is such an intimate thing to be an artist. This is why I don’t like working with galleries. This is why I want to keep that intimacy of selling my artwork between me and the buyer and not having the middleman screwing everything up because of exactly what you’re saying. There is a subjectivity and an intimacy that, it’s very personal when you’re looking at it.
Miriam Schulman:
Yes, absolutely. And I also was very happy to see that you also collect art. So I’m an artist and I also collect art too but most of the time, I hide it under my bed from my husband. It’s like…
Ashley Longshore:
I know. And go, “Look what I bought, motherfucker.” I make my own money, what’s he going to say?
Miriam Schulman:
It’s that too but because I’m an artist, he’s like, “Oh, don’t complain about your profitability and you’re spending money on art.” But for me, it’s like also I get off on just the whole collection of it. I don’t even need to-
Ashley Longshore:
Yeah, me too.
Miriam Schulman:
… display it. That’s why I said, like I just hoard it and sometimes I just have to have it.
Ashley Longshore:
Oh yeah, I’ve got it stacked up in closets behind doors. I believe there’s an infinite amount of money to be made in the universe. And once you figure out how to make it, there’s no cap to how much you can make. So why not invest it back into your own industry? You’re just literally just switching the money… You’re switching numbers around digitally is all you’re doing. I mean, money is just a number in your bank account. I mean, it’s not like you’re stacking up gold in your closet for God’s sake.
Miriam Schulman:
I also feel it’s good karma and you’re telling the universe that it’s important to invest in art. So if you’re an artist and you don’t do it yourself, that’s not a good thing. Then you’re giving the universe a different message.
Ashley Longshore:
It’s all individual. I’m not judging anybody that isn’t collecting art, but I love artists and I love to buy art.
Miriam Schulman:
So I also wanted to ask you about why the fishbowl, Audrey in a Fishbowl?
Ashley Longshore:
It’s funny, you ask why and I must often ask, why not? I love the idea that we’re all in a fishbowl and I just had this vision in my head, the way things pop into an artist’s mind, I thought, God, I love that. And then I put it on a big round, huge wooden canvas. And I don’t know, the combination of everything together just thrills me. I love the movement of the fish, I love the beauty of the damask in the background. I love the balance of it all, and I love the idea that we are all in a fishbowl. Why not bring some peace and beauty into all of it.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay. But here I am putting my own meaning on to stuff. But you can’t breathe in a fishbowl.
Ashley Longshore:
If you want to take it literally, you can. That’s you.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay. All right, that’s me then. I won’t tell you my interpretations on other artists’ art now. Okay. So there were other pieces that I was really… Actually, it just made me laugh that were in here, the Gucci Pig.
Ashley Longshore:
Oh yeah. I pre-ordered some really bad ass Gucci boots and then I got them and they wouldn’t zip over my calf muscles, and I was devastated because I’d waited for them for like three months. So I shipped them back and I was so upset that I painted that painting. And I put a little Gucci sweat bands on the pig’s little feet and I made them all like pimped out. So he looked super cute. And then I sold that painting and I went and bought some boots to fit.
Miriam Schulman:
Nice. I think most women of a normal size can relate to that story too, of not being able to zip up those boots in the…
Ashley Longshore:
Yeah, and I’ve got great legs. I don’t have big legs. Hey, you know what? It’s fine. I found different pair of boots.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. Awesome. All right, so you also mentioned you have an installation in the Hamptons this week. You want to tell us about that, where that is?
Ashley Longshore:
Yes. I have a collector, Lizzie Tisch, who is really, really… She’s such an incredible woman. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of the Tisch School of Art.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah.
Ashley Longshore:
Okay. She’s so incredible. She’s such an amazing spirit, she loves fashion, she loves art and she’s an amazing woman. And so she had this idea, she’s launching a new company and she was like, “Let’s have Ashley Longshore worlds in the Hamptons at my state.” And I was like, “Okay.” So I’m getting ready for that. We’re shipping furniture and rugs and my God, you guys, how many paintings? 50, 60 paintings. It’s going to be really great. But that being said, I mean my God, how incredible to have this amazing show in the Hamptons, but there’s so much work that has to be done to get ready for this.
Ashley Longshore:
And that’s something that I really like to keep very real with artists out there, is that like making a PDF, so photography, everything is wired, everything is resin, is everything perfect? The shipping, how is it going to be wrapped? The PDF sheets that you have to print out for the shippers, then you get there and the installation of all of it. Has anything been damaged? You have touch up. It’s like my father used to say, if it was easy everybody would do it. And it is so much work.
Ashley Longshore:
And coming off of the installation at pallet at Bergdorf Goodman and then this. And then as an artist, and I’m sure you relate, it’s so important to have this time of reflection and solitude to really reflect on all this insanity that is our life. And so right now there’s no reflection time for me. It’s show time, so working really hard and just pushing through all this. But it’s going to be great. It’s going to be really, really great. I’m excited.
Miriam Schulman:
Do you consider yourself an introvert? I mean, you have a very extroverted public personality, but do you also need that…
Ashley Longshore:
Oh, yeah. Oh my God. I mean, people think I’m like partying and out every night. You wouldn’t catch me at a cocktail party in New Orleans, Louisiana. I don’t like cocktail parties and I don’t go to cocktail bar. I like dinner parties, I like more intimate social environments. I mean, look, that being said… Look, I have lavish dinner parties. I’ll get like a private room. I’m very particular about the energy that I surround myself with because I am sensitive.
Ashley Longshore:
And I don’t know about you as an artist, but for me, I mean, when I found painting, I found it to be something that I could shield myself from the world because I didn’t know where my place was going to be, and I felt scared of it. I didn’t know what my role was going to be as a woman. I was brought up from the South to be a trophy wife, and that always felt wrong to me. So the minute I found painting, I found a way that I was like, okay, I’m going to do this and I’m going to be super fucking successful.
Ashley Longshore:
I’m not going to work with galleries, I’m not going to give up 50%, I’m going to figure out how to do this myself.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. But isn’t it true though, with all your staff, your overhead must be close to that anyway? Yeah. I mean, the cost to run this empire…
Ashley Longshore:
It’s an honor to spend money that way. Paying a middle man or woman 50% to sell an original piece of artwork doesn’t make sense to me. Now, does a gallerist deserve a percentage? Absolutely. And I also find that it really fucks with the value of the artwork because if I’m buying something from a gallery and an only 50% is going to the person that’s creating the artwork, I’m investing just as much in a brick and mortar thing. I just don’t believe in that.
Ashley Longshore:
I believe in investing 100% into a living artist so they can take that money, buy what they need, travel where they need to go, see the world, get that inspiration and reflect it so that we can enjoy it. I don’t like giving up 50%. I don’t know who decided that would be industry standard, but I don’t tolerate it.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay. Good for you.
Ashley Longshore:
You give up 50%.
Miriam Schulman:
You must always been self-represented-
Ashley Longshore:
You have to. I mean-
Miriam Schulman:
I’ve been in galleries and-
Ashley Longshore:
I have given up 50% and I always felt like, this sucks, to the point that they would not only take 50%, but then they would make me pay for the credit card fees, they would make pay for postage. I mean, just like sleazebag, bottom feeder people feeding off of talented, sensitive individuals that depend on them, and I don’t have any tolerance for it at all.
Miriam Schulman:
And in my experience, it was just that… I was giving 50% but I was also bringing the buyers in. So then it was like, what’s the point of this?
Ashley Longshore:
Fuck them.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, because your wall looks nice. So then I do it on my own. Yeah.
Ashley Longshore:
Cool.
Miriam Schulman:
All right. So I want to talk, I like hearing about your stories and your artwork and I want to know what’s next. What haven’t I seen? What’s going into this installation next week that I wouldn’t have seen?
Ashley Longshore:
I mean, there are new paintings. I have some great new sculptures, but the main thing I’m working on right now, and you need to understand, I’m in this whirlwind right now of, I’ve got all these companies calling me and people wanting to do collaborations, and I’m really trying to take my time and wrangle it in and decide what’s good for me to continue to promote my artwork and promote my brand and validate my clientele versus who are these people that are just trying to feed off of the energy that is being put out there by what I’m doing.
Ashley Longshore:
I’m leaving for the entire month of August to go to the mountains to paint. So I’m working on some art films and digital installations. I’ve had some big neon things that I’m doing right now. I’m about to start a series of portraits that are going to be really incredible and I’m really excited about.
Miriam Schulman:
Another influence I see in your work in the portraits is Alice Neel. Would you agree that that’s an influence as well or no?
Ashley Longshore:
I mean, I would be honored for Alice Neel to be an influence. I think-
Miriam Schulman:
I know you’ve been compared to Andy Warhol and I get that because it’s like the pop bar, but I still see a closer connection to an artist like Alice Neel because you’re making a commentary with your art on women’s psychology and people’s psychology.
Ashley Longshore:
God, she was so incredible. She was so incredible. She’s such an incredible painter. I would love to be that good of a painter. I appreciate you saying that very much, that means a lot to me. We’ll see what happens in this next portrait series.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, I did see you post it online. You did a portrait of Kim Jong Un, you want to speak about that?
Ashley Longshore:
Oh, the supreme leader, yeah, I got really tickled because I’ve wanted that Supreme, Louis Vuitton collab and that cotton sweatshirt was like eight grand and I was like, that’s fucking crazy. But I think it would be so funny to put that on my presidential series. And then it was when Donald Trump was meeting with Kim Jong Un, and I was just like, I got so tickled in him being the supreme leader that I painted it. And then with the emoji with the straight face looks exactly like Kim Jong Un.
Miriam Schulman:
Yes, it was hilarious.
Ashley Longshore:
My job is to take my thoughts and put them on canvas and share where I’m at in the world with the world. And that was definitely a pop culture moment.
Miriam Schulman:
I didn’t see all the back and forth, but I did see your response to somebody. You were like, “I don’t care who’s going to buy it. I wanted to paint it.” So they must’ve been some brouhaha about who would invest in a painting like that.
Ashley Longshore:
Well, it doesn’t fucking matter who would buy it. I mean, this isn’t the sort of thing where I’m just sitting here churning out shit that people would buy. I have to honor myself or a longevity in this. I mean, look, I have certain series that sell very, very well. I paint them compulsively because I love them and they sooth me. That doesn’t mean I’m going to paint them forever. But I mean, all that being said, I mean, who’s going to buy a painting of a cactus that says, “Fuck all y’all.”?
Ashley Longshore:
Who’s going to buy paint of bubbles that say, “Human resources says, I can’t say making money makes me so wet.” I mean, you know what I mean? Who’s going to buy, “feminism is a real panty dropper.” I’ll tell you who, women make their own fucking money. I mean, we’re at a different age now. I mean, look, I’m not chucking around and four-inch Louis Vuitton. I’ve got on freaking Adidas sneakers right now, you know why? I’m running a fucking company. I’m running a multimillion dollar company and I do what the fuck I want.
Ashley Longshore:
And thankfully, there’s lots of other women doing that and they can buy whatever they want because they don’t have to suck dick for shit anymore. so it doesn’t matter, you have to be true to yourself or you’re never going to get anywhere.
Miriam Schulman:
Right.
Ashley Longshore:
So supreme leader, damn right, I painted it. If nobody ever fucking buys it, I don’t give a shit. I’ll hang it in my damn living room. I’ll hang it in my bathroom. I don’t give a damn.
Miriam Schulman:
Right. Right. I also really liked, it’s not in your book. I think I must’ve seen it posted recently also in Instagram, but it was Audrey Hepburn with the bubble gums.
Ashley Longshore:
Oh, yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. What inspired you for that? It’s like you woke up one day and said, “I’m going to add bubblegum.”
Ashley Longshore:
God, I was looking at something online and it was somebody collecting gumball machines, and I was like, “Oh my God, how fun would that be?” And then initially, the background… What did we initially do for the background of that Nina?
Nina:
It was just polka dots.
Ashley Longshore:
Oh, yeah. It was like polka dots. And then I was like, “What about the jewels? What about the jewels?” So what I’ll do is I’ll have an idea, and I have an in-house graphic designer and we’ll sit here and mock up, I’ll do mock ups. The same way a lot of artists would sketch, I will use technology to put things together and go, “Oh my God, I love that. That totally works. That saves.” And then boom, I go and execute it. And I thought the gumballs, they’re huge too. I mean, there’s 96 by 72. So I like that.
Miriam Schulman:
So people must collect several pieces of you. I mean, I could see wanting to have like, okay, I had this one, now I have this one.
Ashley Longshore:
I mean, I know you’re an art collector. I’m the same way. I have an artist at collecting Sarah Stever and I have three of her pieces. I just bought another one the other day. I have another artist, Spencer Herr, that I collect. Herr is his last name, H-E-R-R. I probably have like 18 of his pieces. Peter Antin, Ellie Smallwood. I’ve been an Allo fan. I’m obsessed with, my God, Anna Jensen. I have so many of her paintings. Collin Christian the sculptor, I absolutely love him. I’m-
Miriam Schulman:
Are any of these New Orleans artists? I mean, are you-
Ashley Longshore:
No, no. I’m trying to think if I have any New Orleans artists.
Miriam Schulman:
Chris Antieau or?
Ashley Longshore:
Oh, I do. I do have Chris Antieau. I have a Lil Wayne by Chris Antieau. -of operations bought me that for Christmas like three years ago.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay, so are you calling in from New Orleans right now and then you’re flying up to New York?
Ashley Longshore:
Yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
Great.
Ashley Longshore:
Yeah, I’m in new Orleans right now and then I’ll be back in New York on July the 9th.
Miriam Schulman:
And then what do you see when you’re in New York, besides visiting the installation in your… I know you’re working, but do you have time to go to the museums or the galleries?
Ashley Longshore:
I always try to go to The Whitney. I tried to swing to The Met. I usually go to the same restaurants every time. It ends up being such a grind with like appointments, meetings, and thank God now, photo shoots. I just did a big photo shoot for Oprah Magazine, which I’m excited about. I got a big photo shoot with Judith Leiber next time I’m there for some great-
Miriam Schulman:
Yes. Tell me about your collaboration with her. I want to hear more about that.
Ashley Longshore:
It’s such an amazing company. It’s so wonderful and Dee Hilfiger actually, it was her idea for us to collaborate. She’s the creative director of the company. And yeah, we’ve ended up doing seven bags that are so wonderful and we’re going to start rolling them out here in August, and they’re fun and they’re poppy and they all have my signatures on them and it’s going to be really exciting. I’m super excited to-
Miriam Schulman:
This isn’t your first collection with them, right? Didn’t you do another series of bags?
Ashley Longshore:
I did. I did a lipstick for January and I made an Instagram post and we sold out in a few minutes. And so then I did another lipstick and we sold out of that and they were like, “Why don’t we do a whole little collection we could roll out in the fall?” So it’s exciting.
Miriam Schulman:
That is exciting. Congratulations on all the success you’ve been having. I mean, Bergdorf, when I went to do my research there, the salesperson was telling me how the buyer had just stumbled upon you in New Orleans and brought you into their home goods, and you did really well there and you’re the first artist that they’ve given an installation to in that space there.
Ashley Longshore:
Well, I think that they got really excited about the numbers. I think the fact that I haven’t worked with galleries and I’ve been very picky about how I’m marketing artwork creates quite an inertia. So being in an address like Bergdorf Goodman and being in New York city, it just works. I mean, there’s demand.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. Because there’s so many people who may not have seen it, I’m just going to describe it really fast. It’s wall to wall of Ashley’s art. The chairs, which I believe the timeout chairs is something you had previously designed for your gallery?
Ashley Longshore:
Oh, yeah. I did all the chairs and the vinyl. I did the chandelier, everything.
Miriam Schulman:
Oh, the chandelier is amazing. So the chandelier is butterflies, it kind of reminds me of Alexandra McQueen’s hat sculpture with the butterflies coming out. So the whole thing, it’s not just going into an art gallery. When I went with my mother and my daughter, it was like having an experience. Yeah. The whole thing and the place mats and the chairs and the whole thing, I was so excited about what you did there. Really, it was incredible.
Ashley Longshore:
Thank you. Well, you know what? Linda Fargo has been so incredible. She’s such a special person and I feel so lucky that such an accomplished woman who has such a voice at the fashion community would say me, somebody who’s not a size zero, but as someone who has lots of self confidence and self love, and I’m putting out this energy of, you’ve got to do what you love. You’ve got to love yourself. Work hard, eat carbs, spend money.
Ashley Longshore:
You’ve got to do what you want in your life. And I’m so happy that she embraced that, and I’m so happy about the success that we’ve had there. And it’s a huge opportunity. I mean, look, when I started this dream of wanting to make it big as an artist, the idea of being the first female artists to have this huge installation at Bergdorf Goodman and six windows down 5th Avenue, I mean, I couldn’t have even ever thought about that.
Miriam Schulman:
But they told me you were the first artists, not just the first woman artist, that they’ve given an installation like this. So kudos to you. Speaking of cards, I heard you added some additions to their menu.
Ashley Longshore:
Yeah. Yeah. Yes.
Miriam Schulman:
So in addition to the kale salad, you can find deep fried bologna sandwich.
Ashley Longshore:
That was their idea.
Miriam Schulman:
Oh, it was? Okay. I didn’t order that, I ordered kale salad. Is there anything else you’d like to share today?
Ashley Longshore:
I just hope that the people that are watching your podcast, that to make it out there in the creative world, you really have to be patient with yourself. You have to take it day by day. And I always say it’s like when you’re playing it safe, you’re not going to get fruit tomorrow. You really have to be patient with yourself and have that foundation of I know who I am, I know that I have plenty of time and I’m going to be patient with myself and I’m going to take the good and the bad.
Ashley Longshore:
But really loving who you are is going to help you deal with all the negativity and the no’s that are going to happen in the career of being a creative. There are moments where you don’t sell anything, there are moments where the phone isn’t ringing, there are moments when you’re not inspired. And I think that’s where we really find out who we are, in those moments in between all the action. You just really have to be patient with yourself. I can remind myself of that all the time too.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. And I mean, you’re in a huge trajectory right now of success, but do you have moments of self-
Ashley Longshore:
God, yes. Jeez, yes. All the time. I mean, I get sad. I have moments where I don’t want to leave my bed. I’m like, oh my God, I’ve got 10 conference calls today, I’ve got to produce all this artwork, I’ve got clients yelling at me. They’re waiting for commissions. It can be very overwhelming. That’s why my Instagram is this journal of like positivity. It’s a way of making myself fired up. I love people dancing, I love music. I like to take something negative and turn it around and try to see the optimistic side of it or at least make light of it. I mean, this is my life, damn it. I want to have fun, but hell yes I have moments.
Miriam Schulman:
And I love your video, there was one recently about this big guy dancing around because-
Ashley Longshore:
Eric Kavanagh, he’s so wonderful. Isn’t he wonderful?
Miriam Schulman:
Wonderful. How do you find these videos?
Ashley Longshore:
How does anybody find anything on the internet? I don’t know. I love people dancing and I especially love him because he doesn’t have that typical dancer body. And to me it makes him even better because he’s so flexible and he’s so wonderful and he’s unique. You could put too typical dancers next to him and he’d be the only person I stare at. And I think that’s what we need right now. In the media, there’s this cookie cutter description of we’re supposed to be rich, we’re supposed to be thin, we’re supposed to have big tits.
Ashley Longshore:
Now everything’s about ass. You need to have a little waist, you need to have a hot boyfriend or a hot girlfriend or a hot boyfriend and a hot girlfriend. There’s so much pressure, but they’re all just trying to sell stuff. I mean, at the end of the day, all you really need to do is be who you are. And the very thing that’s weird about you is probably the most wonderful thing about you. I mean, would Oprah be Oprah if she looked like Halle Berry? I don’t know.
Ashley Longshore:
I got to be me, man. You got to be you. We all have to embrace that weirdness that we have in each other. That individuality is the very thing that these big brands and people that depend on creatives to make money, that’s what they’re looking for, just saying.
Miriam Schulman:
Thank you so much, Ashley. You are such a gift. I so appreciate our time together.
Ashley Longshore:
Thank you for putting this out into the world. It’s important and it takes time and I appreciate you very much.
Miriam Schulman:
All right, well thanks for being here. I want to wish you a huge sell out success next week in the Hamptons. You go for those ambitious, woman.
Ashley Longshore:
Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Miriam Schulman:
All right, take care.
Ashley Longshore:
Okay. Bye, bye.
Miriam Schulman:
Bye.
Miriam Schulman:
Well, that’s it for episode number one of the Inspiration Place podcast. If you want to see pictures of Ashley’s work or check out any of the links mentioned in the show, go to schulmanart.com/001 because this is the first episode. And if you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. We hope you join us next time when we’ll be talking with artist, Blenda Tyvoll and be taking listener questions about how to solve problems in their art business.
Miriam Schulman:
If you want to contribute to the conversation, please join us over on Facebook. My Facebook group is schulmanart.com/inspireme. You could also search for it on The Inspiration Place on Facebook. So thanks so much again and I’ll see you next time. Bye for now.
Thank you for listening to the Inspiration Place podcast. Connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/schulmanart, on Instagram @schulmanart, and of course on schulmanart.com.
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