In today's episode of Creative Guts, co-hosts Becky Barsi @artsybarsi and Joe Acone @joeacone sit down with Ashley Normal @ashley_normal , a New England-based artist, educator, and community builder whose work explores the strange, fragile, and absurd edges of everyday life. Through drawing, painting, mixed media, and altered materials, she examines themes like mental health, womanhood, gender, memory, and social taboos.
🎧 To learn more about Ashley Normal’s work, check out her website at and follow on Instagram.
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Thank you to our friends at @artupfrontstreet in Exeter, NH and the @rochester_MFA in Rochester, NH for their support of the show!
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#AshleyNormal #Artist #ArtistInterivew #Podcast #CreativeGuts #CreativeGutsPodcast #NewHampshire #Creative #Creativity #PodcastInterview
What do you see?
“Beauty Is In the Eye of the Beholder”, 2026
Watercolor, acrylic ink, colored pencil, and found image on paper, 3” × 3”
This piece came from an 18” × 24” painting I originally started in 2019 as part of my “Modern Day Venuses” series, shown in the third and fourth images. The work was inspired by ancient fertility sculptures (image 5). Earlier this spring, I worked back into the original painting before cutting it up into a pile of 3” × 3” square painting starters.
The bottom left corner reminds me of an angel’s wing. I also see an umbilical cord and a kind of celestial womb.
I recently watched a video about motherhood that spoke about how, during the process of giving birth, the old version of you dies and a new version of you is born alongside your child. I deeply connect to this sentiment. During the birth of my first child, I went somewhere deep inside myself for the last hour of labor before transitioning to pushing. A celestial realm where I died and was resurrected as a mother.
Posting this the day after Mother’s Day feels meaningful to me. Motherhood is complicated, and our relationships with our mothers are often complex. Some of us have lost women, mothers, and maternal figures near and dear to us. Motherhood comes in many forms. Some of us choose to birth other things into existence beside or alongside humans. Some struggle with infertility and loss. For some of us, the timing just doesn’t land.
For the cycle breakers out there, especially in this tender moment, I see you and the complexities this time can hold. Sending you all lots of love, light, peace, and joy.
💕✨🕊️🌀🌸
#artistmother #motherartist #collage #collageart #motherhood
Our Teen Ink Drawing Workshop with artist @ashley_normal is this Saturday!
Teens will create a series of bold ink drawings that reflect their interests, identities, and inner worlds using prompts, quick exercises, and brainstorming strategies. Through short, fast, low-pressure prompts and brief brainstorming exercises, including mind mapping, students will practice generating ideas quickly, letting go of perfection, and simply getting started.
▪ Saturday, May 9 // 10:30am - 12:30pm
▪ Register: link in bio.
“Seeing Through Murky Waters”, 2026
3”x3”, found images on paper
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Seeing through the murky waters
Tumbling through the waves
Ancient knowing
I flow
.
.
.
#jellyfish #collage #collageartist #collagecollectiveco #nhartist
Families! This Saturday, come make, explore, and follow your curiosity with artist @ashley_normal in the Gallery!
Prompt + Ponder + Play is a relaxed, open-house style creative experience for all ages. Inspired by our current exhibition "Of All the Worlds We Could Have Dreamed", you're invited into a world of drawing, pattern, and quiet storytelling. Experiment, play, and see what happens when you let go of needing a plan. Come as you are and just begin!
***Bonus fun: Author, @jonilmcneal will be in attendance with her new Portsmouth-themed children's book, "ABCs by the Sea"!***
▪ Saturday, May 9 from 1 - 3pm.
▪ Register at the link in our bio.
“3 of Swords”, 2026, 3” × 5”, watercolor, acrylic ink, and colored pencil on paper
The design of this piece was largely inspired by Pamela “Pixie” Colman Smith, the illustrator of the Rider–Waite–Smith Tarot deck.
On March 20, the spring equinox, I pulled the “3 of Swords.” I’ve been loving the book “Guided Tarot for Seamless Readings” by Stefanie Caponi @moonvoidtarot . It offered me the insight that, “Experiencing pain is a temporary state, but the memory of pain lingers when it goes unacknowledged.” I pulled this card after hearing back about an opportunity I’ve been working towards for a long time, that I realize is not going to come to fruition.
In moments like this, disappointment can feel heavy, but facing this heaviness is vital in the process of moving forward. It reminds me of the children’s song “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt”: “We can’t go over it, We can’t go under it, We have to go through it.”
The Three of Swords asks us to do the work, “to go through it”, to clear our heads, and move through the pain and discomfort.
When we’re faced with difficult moments, we can see them as unfair, or we can see them as opportunities for growth. Anyone who knows me knows I choose growth. That’s how I’ve moved through some of the heaviest moments in my life.
When we follow our intuition and let go, we make room for growth and opportunity. New paths and doors begin to appear.
In 2026, I’m working on surrendering and giving it up to the universe. We have to go through it, but we can do so with compassion and empathy for ourselves. We can embrace the waves, move with them, and not let them drown us.
Beltane Rabbit & The Flower Moon, 2026
Acrylic ink on paper, 3” × 3”
The rabbit appears here as one of the many symbols of the season, representing fertility, abundance, and renewal.
This piece is part of my small works, where I work back into 3” × 3” starters. These begin as older paintings that I revisit, often adding salt to the wet paint to create a celestial texture. This month, I’ve also been mixing in moon water from April’s full moon. I then cut the paintings into small squares and flip through them until I find the one that aligns with the concept I’m working with.
Today marks a seasonal threshold across Northern Hemisphere cultures, the beginning of the full Flower Moon as we move from spring toward summer.
I’ve been tapping into the traditions of my Swedish and Celtic ancestors:
• Valborg Night (April 30) welcomes spring with fire, protection, and the thinning of the veil.
• Beltane (May 1), a Celtic fire festival observed in Wicca, celebrates fertility, vitality, and the full return of life.
• May Day (May 1) carries this into community celebration, with flowers, maypoles, and rituals of growth and abundance.
The Flower Moon is named for the widespread blooming of flowers across North America, reflecting how fully alive the landscape has become. Other names include Budding Moon (Cree), Planting Moon (Dakota and Lakota), Frog Moon (Cree), and Moon of Shedding Ponies (Oglala).
This full moon is in Scorpio, offering an opportunity to release what is no longer serving us and make space for a truer version of ourselves.
Love, light, and peace.
💕🐇🌷✨🌀🌕🌸🐇💕
Beltane Stag & The Flower Moon, 2026
Acrylic ink on paper, 3” × 3”
The stag appears here as one of the many symbols of the season, representing strength, fertility, and renewal.
This piece is part of my small works, where I work back into 3” × 3” starters. These begin as older paintings that I revisit, often adding salt to the wet paint to create a celestial texture. This month, I’ve also been mixing in moon water from April’s full moon. I then cut the paintings into small squares and flip through them until I find the one that aligns with the concept I’m working with.
Tonight marks a seasonal threshold across Northern Hemisphere cultures, the beginning of the full Flower Moon as we move from spring toward summer.
I’ve been tapping into the traditions of my Swedish and Celtic ancestors:
Valborg Night (April 30) welcomes spring with fire, protection, and the thinning of the veil.
Beltane (May 1), a Celtic fire festival observed in Wicca, celebrates fertility, vitality, and the full return of life.
May Day (May 1) carries this into community celebration, with flowers, maypoles, and rituals of growth and abundance.
The Flower Moon is named for the widespread blooming of flowers across North America, reflecting how fully alive the landscape has become. Other names include Budding Moon (Cree), Planting Moon (Dakota and Lakota), Frog Moon (Cree), and Moon of Shedding Ponies (Oglala).
This full moon is in Scorpio, offering an opportunity to release what is no longer serving us and make space for a truer version of ourselves.
Love, light, and peace.
💕✨🕊️🌀🌕🌸🌷
#flowermoon #fullmoon #beltane #valborg #stag
“The Moon”
2026, Acrylic ink, pen, watercolor, and suminagashi on paper, 3”x3”
Lately, I’ve been starting my mornings in quiet conversation with the universe. Building a practice inspired by Julia Cameron’s morning pages and Elizabeth Gilbert’s letters to love, I’ve been asking “GULLS” (God, Universe, Love, Light, Source):
What do you want me to know today?
What do you want to show me?
How easy could this be?
I shuffle my tarot cards, ask the question or questions, breathe deeply, pull a card, and reflect.
Earlier this week, I pulled The Moon.
I asked myself:
What are the domestic (dog) and the wild, shadow parts of myself (coyote) being illuminated by the moon?
How can they exist together? What parts of me are suspended between worlds (lobster)?
How can I accept all the parts of myself?
How can I love myself wholly?
How can I surrender?
How can I soften?
Dove in the Moonlight, 2026
Acrylic ink and colored pencil on paper, 3” × 3”
Growing up Catholic, I’ve always felt a deep connection to doves and their symbolism of peace and love.
As I prepare for my upcoming exhibit at @see.saw.art_ Gallery in Manchester, NH, I’m leaning hard into symbolism: animals, Tarot, and more mystical and intuitive approaches to making. (Of course, I will be making room for lots of play and weirdness too. We can’t take ourselves too seriously.)
More to come soon!
Love, light, and peace.
💕✨🕊️🌀
Exhibition on view: June 13–28, 2026
Reception: Saturday, June 13, 5–7 pm
On view alongside the incredible artists @petersandback and @gghostwheel
#painting #dove #peace #nhartist #nhart
