Ashley Keith has an Etsy shop offering her handmade, self-taught artwork and clay jewelry, but the Hurlock native especially loves attending local Shore events, like the 2nd Chalk Arts Festival held recently in Cambridge. (Photo by Debra Messick)
“What better place for birds, than in a Christmas Tree?” asks artist Ashley Evelyn Keith..
To the lifelong bird lover, the sight of sparrows adorning the branches of her front yard tree fill Keith with delight.
As an enthusiastic self-taught artist, it also fills her with creative possibilities.
For Keith, who grew up in Hurlock and now lives in Salisbury, an appreciation of birds likely comes naturally.
She still harkens back to fond memories of childhood visits to her grandfather in Ohio, helping him fill his multitude of feeders for a variety of feathered visitors, and of her grandmother, who was especially fond of cardinals.
With a busy full-time job as a home-office based Information specialist with Tidal Health, for the past few years Keith has also carved out a rewarding downtime niche for herself, creating artwork and jewelry, which she sells at local festivals and in her AshleyKeithArt Etsy shop.
“Painting is my passion and my hobby,” Keith said.
Although two aunts are artists, her own creative calling surfaced shortly before the COVID pandemic.
During those days of isolation and taking refuge outdoors, feeding the birds, there was also more time to start painting them.
Though she’s created large pieces, these days Keith is finding that size-wise, less is more.
“For a lot of people, small paintings are really more accessible, and affordable, in terms of space and money,” she said.
So, she’s honed her skills as a maker of miniature masterpieces, which draw lots of interest and appreciation. With the holiday season approaching, her petite portraiture skills also has led her to spontaneously create a line of watercolor painted wooden Christmas bird ornaments.
Each 3-inch ornament features a different, festive 1-inch bird.
The time-consuming prep process, which takes about 48 hours, first requires applying several coats of watercolor ‘grounding’ which acts as a primer.
Finding that pencil sketch lines are often visible, she prefers to freehand her designs in watercolor, using extremely tiny brushes.
“If you make a mistake, you have to start over; it becomes a learning experience,” Keith added. “And, if you wear glasses, you’ll really need them,” she noted, with a smile.
Of the first 14 she created, about half sold quickly, but Keith is happy to keep busy making more, and gladly takes requests for additional bird designs for the ornaments and mini pictures; so far she’s had suggestions for snowy owls and woodpeckers.
While the ornaments can be ordered via her Etsy shop, Keith especially enjoys showing her work and meeting people in person, at venues like downtown Salisbury’s 3rd Friday, and recently at the 2nd Chalk Festival in Cambridge, where she felt right at home with a table by the water, where she was able to view a variety of ducks.
“I love to be able to talk with people directly, hearing about what they like, and sharing stories behind the work,” Keith said.
