About
Ashley Long
A Nurturing Artist
Was born in Beijing, China in 1947. Her family fled when she was 6 after the Chinese Communist Party came into power and begun her 5 year immigration journey with her parents and three siblings. Everything of material value was stolen from them early in transit. They settled in Palo Alto, CA, where they started from scratch, building and making things in their home. In high school she drafted for the Stanford Medical graphics department and later was a designer for Kaiser Engineers, and retired as a traffic engineer. Ashley has been a Mastick community member since 2002 and joined as soon as she able to. She loves sharing with strangers about how wonderful Mastick and the community is cherished part of her life.
“It sometimes pisses me off when I hear her say she is not an artist. I mean...come on, lady. You can draw something pretty much 1-to-1. My mom's art and creativity has had huge influence in my life. It's probably why I design for a living today.
What inspires her? Bright, pure colors. Colors you would see on fruits or a flower. A plant or a weed on a walk. Watching other people make and do their art. She's definitely a perfectionist and she believes in quality. She's been telling me since I was kid, Gung Gung (Grandpa) always used to say, "Don't do it if you can't do it right". Beyond her technical skill, to me, her art is elegant and organic in form—something sensual, a result of experienced, steady, and dexterous hands. Always has she had a keen ability to see the beauty in things that other people thought were garbage. It just needs more attention and love. Art nurtured by her nature.”
- One of her sons