About the Artist

Stephanie Ashby

Born in California and raised in Okinawa, Stephanie Ashby was introduced from an early age to the insects, plants and animals in the island’s bamboo forests. She snorkeled in the Okinawa reefs with her parents, and visited shrines, tombs, temples and formal gardens. The people, nature and history of Okinawa remain a strong influence, as do her studies of microbiology, botany, and zoology in both formal and conceptual aspects of her work. The natural processes that lead to the patterns and shapes in nature are of particular interest to her. Underlying this is an emphasis on the space that exists within a structure, and the forces that determine the properties of this space.

In her sculptural work, she accumulates, stacks, joins and groups repeated elements to assemble an overall object. The result is a simple composition with internal complexities that often resembles a natural form.  Her drawings suggest a dual sense of place that is in flux between the microscopic and the macroscopic.

Stephanie moved to Seattle in 1988 and attended the University of Washington where she earned a BFA in sculpture. She has shown at COCA and other spaces, and has artwork in King County, City of Seattle, Harborview Medical Center and UW Graduate School collections.