Living Her Passion - Ashley Spitsnogle

Ashley Spitsnogle painting “live” at the 2018 Heartfelt Gala in Nebraska.

While growing up in a small farming community in Odell, Nebraska, Ashley Spitsnogle loved drawing horses and mermaids. After her life’s journey led her to attend and then graduate from Doane University in Crete, Ashley studied at Studio Arts College International in Florence, Italy, for a month where she focused on painting and drawing. When returning to the States, Ashley decided she wanted to do whatever it took to become a professional artist.

Her first professional project was illustrating the children’s book, Josh the Baby Otter, for the Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation whose mission is to create awareness about water safety. Since then, she has traveled throughout the nation on behalf of the Foundation, partnering with numerous organizations including Rotary International and the Michael Phelps Foundation to prevent drowning accidents. Today, Ashley stay very busy commissioning diverse art for clients that includes Husker prints, abstract pieces, and paintings of cattle, horses, and landscapes. Additionally, she hosts art shows and paints live at events that include the Cattleman’s Ball of Nebraska, Teammates Mentoring, the Lied Center, Heartfelt Ball, Nebraska Bar Association, Farm Credit Services of America, and many others.

When creating her art, Ashley often develops a composition in Photoshop first, so she can gather an idea of how it will look on canvas in different ways. After her process leads her to utilizing charcoal on the canvas to lay out the shapes for the painting, Ashley then layers in blocks of color and adds the details as the final step. In order to demonstrate her process, Ashley has produced numerous, fascinating time-lapse videos that detail the beginning to end stages of a painting. She adds, “Painting live is like a performance. As long as I am overly prepared, I become hyper-focused and just start painting. Generally, I give myself four hours to complete a painting on a three-foot by four-foot canvas, so it’s large enough for people to see from a distance.”

Ashley, who has always been a big Husker fan, became licensed through the University of Nebraska to commission her artwork three years ago after she painted a Brook Berringer and Tom Osborne painting live at a Teammates mentoring event. After Coach Osborne signed the painting, she posted it on Facebook, prompting many to reach out including Brook’s family and friends. The following year, Ashley painted “Last Tunnel Walk” live at a Heartfelt Incorporated event for families who have lost children. The painting, approved beforehand by both Sam Foltz’s and Brook Berringer’s families, shows Brook and Sam walking into the light with Brook’s hand on Sam’s shoulder, as if to lead and comfort him. After the painting was auctioned off, Sharon Dickinson (the president of Heartfelt Incorporated), Jill and Gerald Foltz, and Ashley and her family delivered two prints to Bill Moos and Matt Davison at the University. Today, the prints hang in Memorial Stadium. Ashley adds, “I am honored the painting has touched people, as both guys are still making a lasting influence and impression on others.” Additionally, her painting of Coach Scott Frost made the cover of the Husker Sports Fall Guide, of which over 60,000 copies were distributed. Recently, Big Red Wrap Up and other news stations have featured stories on her Husker art.

Ashley’s artistic portrayal of Brook Berringer and Sam Foltz

The best piece of advice Ashley received when she decided to become a professional artist was to never give up and undervalue herself. She loves having a work space in Main Street Studios and Art Gallery in Omaha, among other artists who inspire her daily. When she is not painting approximately four to five hours daily, she works on a regular basis with the Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation, illustrating and helping with the publication of magazines and brochures. Her art is currently displayed in Lincoln at Venue Restaurant & Lounge, Scheels, Main Street Studios and Art Gallery, Husker Hounds, and Revitalift in Lincoln.

“Nebraska Strong”, painted by Ashley at the Cattleman’s Ball to portray the hay being brought to farmers after the historic floods of 2019.

Ashley has gained much from pursuing her passion. “I am excited to wake up each day and get to work,” she says. “I also have the freedom to travel and enjoy the fact that no two days are alike.” For anyone who wants to pursue their own passion in life, Ashley advises, “When you don’t dread going to work every day, it is worth every sleepless night and stress. I don’t know what kind of person I would be if I didn’t pursue my passion. You only live once, so you might as well enjoy what you do.”

Edgar Degas once said, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” Every time Ashley stands in front of a canvas and begins another creation, she helps all of us see the beauty in our beloved football team, the Nebraska landscape, and life itself.

To read more about Ashley or to purchase one of her pieces, visit ashleyspitsnogle.com.

Vicky DeCoster is a Certified Life Coach based in Omaha, Nebraska, who specializes in helping her clients both locally and nationwide to move past obstacles, create a plan for happiness, and cross the bridge of transition to find a new and fulfilling direction in life. To read more about her and her practice, visit her at crossthebridgecoaching.com.

Living Her Passion – Allison Borji

Allison Borji has always considered herself a “creative.” Despite a challenging childhood that sadly included the traumatic loss of her father to suicide when she was just five and her own battle with severe depression, Allison always had a pen in hand and, as a self-professed hopeless romantic, loved writing poetry. After graduating magna cum laude from college with a degree in history, marrying her college sweetheart, and moving around the country as a military spouse, Allison began searching for a hobby that would help her become more reliant on herself and her abilities as she stepped outside her comfort zone.

By researching various types of art techniques and materials that appealed to her, Allison discovered she had a knack for combining colors to create beautiful artwork. As she began painting on a regular basis, Allison quickly realized the therapeutic benefits of creating art. The way the paint swirled and the ink spread on the canvas helped take her mind to a quiet place. After thoroughly studying a variety of mediums, Allison finally settled on fluid acrylic, watercolors, and alcohol inks.

When she begins painting, Allison rarely has a vision in mind of what she wants to create. Instead, she chooses a color palette that reflects her mood or the seasons and guides her to start the process creating abstract art. After reminding herself to let go of control, Allison lets her medium do the deciding. “That helps take the stress out of deciding what to paint,” she adds. Once she creates a piece, she lets it sit overnight and comes back to it after a day or two. Allison finds that extremely useful in helping her create art pieces that she loves. After about a week of assessing the piece, she adds varnish to ensure its longevity and vibrancy. Because of a harsh inner-critic she is always attempting to tame, Allison generally places one out of five pieces on her Etsy site to sell.

An Allison Borji original

When Allison decided to open a shop on Etsy, she received heartfelt advice to “just do it.” Additionally, she was encouraged to take things at her own pace. “I knew if I opened a shop, I would feel pressure to consistently create more art. I have to remind myself daily that I am doing this because I love it, not because I have to,” says Allison. When a customer purchases a piece because they are going through the same emotional challenges as Allison, she is thrilled that her art is supporting their healing process. Her challenges have included learning how to photograph her art and size it properly to fit Etsy’s standards. “The way I see colors and the sheen on a canvas can greatly affect the photo,” Allison states. Another challenge she has battled is turning down commission work. “Learning to say no to commissions is essential to maintaining my love for making art. Because my whole philosophy revolves around ‘therapy through art’, the pressure and deadlines that come with commission work takes away the love I have for the art process,” adds Allison.

Supported by her family, friends, co-workers, and most of all, her husband Omar, Allison has come to realize that it is a gift to have found a passion that helps heal her soul, bring her peace of mind, and help others realize they are not alone. Today, she is better at motivating herself to take risks, growing comfortable with her identity, and becoming bolder in her decision making. Although each year comes with its own set of obstacles, she is learning how to breathe through them, finding humor in many situations, and adapting easier to change. “I am comfortable calling myself a different person than I was ten years ago,” Allison says, “Creating art has provided me a haven and coping mechanism that allows me to reduce the stigma of mental illness while providing hope to anyone battling personal challenges.”

Allison advises anyone ready to pursue their passion to just do it and don’t look back. “Stay true to yourself. Go with your instincts. Life is fragile and short. We can often get too caught up in what we need to do. Find your passion and make time for it. Life is hard, embracing your passion will only help make it more enjoyable and fulfilling.”

Henri Matisse once said, “Creativity takes courage.” Every day that Allison Borji steps into her art studio and lets inspiration take control, she is proving to herself—and all her customers—that anything is possible if we just trust in the process and believe we can.

An Allison Borji original

To view and/or purchase Allison’s artwork, visit her shop “Ink & Bear It: Abstract Artworks by Allison Borji” at www.etsy.com/shop/inkandbearit.