“When I was in my mid-twenties, I struggled to understand what my work had to offer. With the world being what it was, I wanted to feel I was contributing something tangible. So I started to walk a path studying regenerative design and sustainable materials.

Disillusionment came quickly as I felt the solutions we were designing started to feel like bandaids — plugs on a ruptured pipe without ever acknowledging the pipe was failing. I wasn't interested in designing more bandaids with the same tools that had caused the damage.

I started to ask a different question: what if the world we've built is a direct reflection of our inner worlds — our pasts and the unexamined experiences that have shaped us?

To me, existing as an artist isn't just about what we create, but more importantly, how we see. We can only render something well when we see it deeply and clearly. I started to more deeply understand how our conditions and internalized systems of oppression can alter our perception. As we unpack ourselves, we have a capacity to offer repair rather than perpetuating harm unconsciously.

I always wanted to have an impact with my work, but I knew I was so limited in what I could attempt to offer alone. EartHouse exists to bring compassionate creative minds together. Rather than isolated practitioners, we hope to create a community working from deep seeing toward genuine transformation.”

— Ashlin