Artist Statement: “I paint on discarded library books, paper, and wood panels. I began painting on discarded library books in college. It resonated with me on many levels. Exploring libraries, garage sales, resale shops, and forgotten places to search for books was a tangible (and enjoyable) task between inspirations. And this process has developed organically into my practice today. The ideas I receive from between discarded pages always lead me to interesting places.
For this series a narrative had began to form. One in which skeletons were vestiges of gods, talking to cicadas, breathing into them ideas, dreams, visions. At dusk in my studio, Oklahoma cicadas would hum. I tuned into their chanting, their meditation, and it felt like tuning into a collective consciousness of ideas. Cicadas would become my eyes and I could see stories, words, and letters fall into place.”

‘AA,’ Acrylic on Paper with Paperback Book, 2016

ASHLYN METCALF is an introvert, painter, creative writing nut, and artist. She studied art education at Northeastern State University and worked in education for 4 years. Moving towards painting full time felt natural although ‘a task difficult as hell’. Metcalf lives and paints in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the cicadas hum on summer nights.