Hello and welcome reader! My name is Ashley Porter and here is just a little window into “all of the everything” about yours truly.

Born in 1990, I am a fan of all things 90’s kids. We are talking everything from Sailor Moon to Rocket League to Zelda Ocarina of Time and every single Final Fantasy. I’m married to a loving and suportive husband and I am a mother of three furry turds whome I love (more than my family’s desire for me to have actual human babies) and, I am working full time – (not doing what I love YET) – as well as working towards my BFA in Communication Design.

Entering into my 30’s, I have found that I am finally at a place where I know what I want, and that is to be a freelance designer and illustrator. I spent my 20’s learning about myself, dealing with big life changes and challenges and navigated down many different carreer paths. One thing is for certain however, no matter what I did, I always found a way to do something artistic or creative. I would always come full-circle back to my passion, art. Even when I was in the Army National Guard I would often be found doodling tattoo requests from battle buddies, designing the platoon flag, coin or t-shirt or simply sketching away while we hurried up to wait.

As a teacher’s assistant working with special needs kids, I would spend my time coming up with art projects and painting the classroom windows so the kids could enjoy vibrant colors and holiday cheer. When I worked for a short time at the California Conservation Corps training new Corps Members, I most enjoyed creating visual displays and posters, as well as the occasional whiteboard doodle of a pokemon character giving worldly advice…you know, as they do. Any administrative work I took on, still, I would wind up creating flyers, newsletters and more because those I worked with would discover my creative ability. Even in my free time I could be found painting windows around town for the holidays, getting down with some crafting or discovering new aspects of art I enjoy.

Currently, I work for an educational software company where I am basically customer service and technical support to anyone who calls our company with questions regarding our system. It’s not creative, not even close. It does, however, pay the bills and allow me to roll out of bed and work from home with a nice group of people until it’s time to take the leap into my chosen career. I could not ask for a better job right now as I work towards my dream, and with any luck, maybe I’ll redesign their logo for them someday or something. 😉

Recently, I have begun to promote my art and design services on social media and I have to say; the slow-going, fewer than 10 likes per post, could totally get me down if I didn’t know that it’s just part of the process. Right now I am moving forward toward my dream career and learning marketing strategies as I go. As I continue on my educational path I want to bring you along with me. In this blog, I will share what I learn, new insights I gain, mistakes I make along the way and, sweet success that we both can learn and grow from. Everyone starts somewhere and in this blog I’m going to dive into all the hurdles and exciting discoveries I make on my way to becoming a designer and doing what I love for a living!

Thank you for joining me on this journey! See you in the next post!

Ash