Ashley Trelease is an artist from Vestal, New York, currently based in Rochester for her undergraduate studies. She is projected to graduate from Nazareth University in 2027 with a B.S. in Studio Art, with a concentration in ceramics. She has worked as the studio assistant for ceramics at Nazareth since 2025.  As an emerging artist, she is driven by a curiosity for the equilibrium of our natural world. Working with organic forms allows her to investigate how individual pieces can interact to create a cohesive whole. After graduation, Ashley seeks to continue her artist practice as a graduate student. 

I use ceramics to explore the connections essential to survival. These include our relationships with nature, ourselves, and one another. Human life depends on connection, just as the natural world depends on a balance between living systems. Through my work, I aim to encourage greater awareness of these relationships and the ways we rely on each other.

I create organic, interplaying vessels that reflect this sense of connection and dependence. My projects are built simultaneously and developed in relation to each other. Using layered spray glazing, I emphasize dynamic gestures within each form. Pieces are then arranged together during the glazing process so that they can physically and visually influence one another, creating cohesion across several components.

By intentionally allowing forms to ebb and flow together, I reinforce the idea that no component can thrive on its own. Each piece depends on the others for balance and meaning, much like our dependence on the world around us. By keeping the pieces connected throughout every stage of the process, the success of the whole relies on the success of each individual part.