Meet Ashley Palmer, artist, web designer, musician and teacher

Ashley Palmer owns and operates Palmystree. She graduated from Jackson High School and Kent State University with an associate and a bachelor's degree with a focus on studio arts and marketing.

“I come from a family of business owners,” said Palmer, who lives in Canton. “My grandmother, Donna Palmer, and later my aunt, Lisa Palmer-Shall, own Palmer Vacations (Palmer Travel at one time). My grandfather had his own accounting business, John Palmer CPA, and my father, Curtis Palmer, owned A1 Electric. He was an electrician and built computers and much more.”

Palmer is an entrepreneur, freelance artist, graphic designer, web designer and musician. She also is an art teacher/director, as well as the events and programs coordinator, at EN-RICH-MENT and a Kundalini yoga instructor at 6th Street Yoga.

“I love to express my art through any creative means possible," she said. "I have a passion for painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, graphic design and other forms of digital work, typography, branding, and web design. I also enjoy making jewelry, holistic body care products, candles and designing clothing. I generally just love exploring the different avenues of art and creativity."

Meet Kelly Williams:Community engagement coordinator at Project REBUILD

What does working in the art world mean to you?

It means wearing many different hats. Many schools and colleges don't teach within their art programs the administrative aspects of being an artist and working for yourself full time.

Not every moment is a fun creative moment. Sometimes there's paperwork, marketing, networking, etc., that needs to be done.

Living in the art world means continuously advocating for the arts and making sure that your voice is heard. Many forget how important art and art programs are, but all of the flyers, logos, websites, music, architecture, interior design, the clothing you wear, the glasses on your face, the shows you watch, etc., are all created by an artist or creative collective.

You have been doing web designs and graphics since you were 9 years old. Share how you got started.

It all started with me looking over my dad's shoulder as he was on the computer.

I asked him what he was up to, and he quickly told me about the ins and outs of this website he was creating about our experiences in Jamaica. I am half Jamaican, and I've been back and forth since I was born to see all of my family members down there.

We had a home in Jamaica, as well, so much of his website was inspired by our blended family. I instantly knew that I wanted to do the same thing!

Would you share details about teaching yoga?

My whole life I've been passionate about and have done research about how we can heal ourselves and our bodies through our intentions, which brought me to my passions in yoga and energy work.

Yoga is a great way to help facilitate healing in the body whether that's physical, mental emotional or spiritual (not in a religious way but on a soul level).

Energy work encourages us to pay attention to our thoughts and ideas and the reality they can create around us, in our bodies, in our emotions or our thoughts. I really got into energy work because I realized that it was something I always just naturally practiced, so it made sense to learn more.

From a young age, I could see how my thoughts and ideas would shift the world within me and around me.

How do you feel the art environment is doing in Stark County?

There is definitely a lot growing within Stark County! Especially amongst artists, creatives, communities, arts councils, etc.

We're seeing more groups pop up like the Massillon Arts Council or Black Artists Coalition, who are both welcoming and incredibly amazing, as much of the arts community is in this area. I'd love to see even more.

In some ways, I feel like we're still just at the very beginning of something amazing. However, I feel as though the art environment in Stark County needs some love and improvement.

I honestly feel as though there could be a greater sense of community between artists. Many seem to be kind of in their own bubble often working with the same groups of people, but if we worked together as a collective, we could do so much more.

Another great thing our community could use is more support for arts programs for the youth.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

A lot of my inspiration comes from colors. I love the way different colors work together and contrast. I find myself often using a bright and vibrant color scheme.

Otherwise, I draw a lot of my inspiration from themes related to space, the multiverse, esoteric philosophies, shamanism, the art of divination, existentialism, psychology, the deep sea and dreams.

I'm also often inspired by line, form and texture. I love creating surreal work that inspires us to think deeper than what we can experience with our five senses. We have a whole universe to explore!

I feel as though it's very limited to think that what we experience on Earth is all there is. The possibilities are endless.

Editor's note: Five questions with ... is a Sunday feature that showcases a member of the Stark County community. If you'd like to recommend someone to participate, send an email to newsroom@cantonrep.com.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Five questions: Ashley Palmer, artist, web designer, musician, teacher