“You do not need to leave your house. Stay at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait.  Do not even wait, be completely quiet and alone. The world will offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”- Kaftka

MEET ASHLEY THALMAN

Ashley Thalman is an American photographer, artist, and creative mentor.

WORKING ARTIST STATEMENT

Working with themes of showing up, co-creating, and vulnerability I value the real over the contrived.

My work is an experience, experiment and exchange. A new kind of image-making, self seeing, and storytelling, one that isn’t fixed, prescribed, or imposed but discovered in the ready-made moment.

I don’t claim that the way I see is "true," nor do I insist on a particular vision. Devoted to the creative process, the experience I share with my clients transcends the final image. It’s not about one of us seeing the other; it’s about both of us being seen. I hold space for the whole of you—whatever parts, pieces, glimpses, or aspects decide to show up.

My approach is fluid—sometimes directing, sometimes sharing, listening and witnessing—but always showing up to experience the moment, push into the edges of expression, no matter how or what it may look like. My work offers mementos of selfhood and a creative experience equal in significance to the final images themselves.

I live in Utah with my kids and partner and continue to paint and write as Ultraviolet Backdrops.