Artists' Top Five: Ashley Hairston Doughty

Top 5 things to do in Vegas:

• Scavenger-hunt for mural art Downtown 

• People-watch on Fremont Street

• Get your eyebrows burned off by the praying mantis at the Container Park

• See the pre-game show for the Vegas Knights

• Cure a hangover at Kitchen Table in Henderson

Images in grid, courtesy Ashley Hairston Doughty. Title image, photograph by Krystal Ramirez

Ashley Hairston Doughty is a visual storyteller, explaining personal experiences through verbal and visual language. Much of her practice deals with socio-economic, racial, and gender-based issues, particularly those relating to cultural misconceptions and the development of personal identity. Her distinctive perspective has grown through residing in nine different cities throughout her lifetime, mostly in the southeastern, midwestern, and southwestern United States.

Although trained as a graphic designer, Ashley’s artwork often crosses multiple media, including typography, illustration, writing, fiber and materials, and book arts. She shares and encourages such art making as an Assistant Professor of Art at UNLV and through her design business and blog, Design Kettle (designkettle.com). Her work is included in the Joan Flasch Artists’ Book Collection in Chicago and has received awards from the Caxton Club, the College Book Arts Association and Arion Press.

Ashley Hairston Doughty, The Space Between, 2012, A physical manifestation of written pieces dealing with racial and social identity