My name is Ashley Potter. I am an artist, illustrator, and art educator.

It has always been a childhood dream of mine to make comics, but I did not pursue this artistic endeavor for a long time. In college, I pursued a Bachelor’s in Painting. Later, I went back to school to get a Master’s in Art Education. It was at this point that I started to think avidly about the fact that art made by children and illustration.

In my pursuit of my license to teach art, I started to actively consider what I wanted to do as a child, and think about how I always wanted to draw and illustrate books and comics.

One day in January 2021, after I had been teaching art for a while, I decided to stop thinking about making illustrations and comics, and to just jump in and try to start. Armed with a pencil and some fine line pens, I made a small comic about a bird trying to learn to fly, and posted it on social media, just in hopes of getting a few smiles out of my close friends. I enjoyed the process so much that I started to make more comics, and continued posting my work on social media. I figured posting to social media was a way of entertaining my friends and holding myself accountable. I wanted to make sure I pursued my comic endeavors in a continual way, even though many of my works are single panel comics. 

Eventually I realized that my work was helping many people, even people I didn’t know at all. Many people expressed that my work was helping them with mental health struggles and encouraging them in their daily lives. It was at this point that I knew that something I was doing with my work was important. I am passionate about helping people, so this realization was the additional fuel I needed to keep making work. 

I make comics constantly now. I am inspired by the people around me, especially in regards to friendships, love, and mental health. I like taking big ideas about life and turning them into illustrations that are approachable to all people, and I also love reminding them about little things in life and in the world that make it wonderful, silly, and beautiful. I make my work for myself, but I also make it for people who may need an encouraging nudge, or a happy reminder.

Sending love and joy to you all,

Ashley