Ashley Joon
I have a love/hate relationship with planning my matches. Yep, I said it! I guess you could say that for any art form, though, since it requires patience, more patience, trial and error, thinking outside of the box, making sure there's meaning behind the match (i.e. that I like the work I'm matching / have a connection to it), and then finding the piece of clothing to match is an entirely different art form in of itself!
Deciding which murals I wanted to match in Denver was like picking a favorite snack - um, sorry, I can't because I like them all! One that instantly stood out to me during my "research" phase was Ashley Joon’s floral mural in the RiNo Arts District.
I love the palette, the gestural manner in which Ashley paints and the overall whimsy of the composition. It reads as effortless but I know that experience has afforded her the skill to be able to paint in this way. I also loved of feminine the piece is, it's beautiful, subtle in some areas, and bold in others. For all those reasons and more, I HAD to match it.
Once I set my mind to match it's all "downhill" from there - just kidding. I'm just really stubborn and I know there's a piece of clothing that WILL match, I just have to find it. Luckily I found this old Boden dress on ThredUP, which is basically a thrift store online. They have name brands at amazing discounts so the second I saw this dress it was a done deal!
About The Match
Right we when arrived to Denver we went to Larimer Street to grab a bite at Port Side, which I would HIGHLY recommend. They literally had the best avocado toast I’ve ever had. It was PILED HIGH!
After our snack we began walking back to our car and noticed a shipping container around the corner that had been painted black and white with drippy stripes and polkadots. Think Yayoi Kusama meets Jen Stark! Obviously the exterior drew us in and to our delight and absolute surprise, ASHLEY JOON was standing inside the container with her art on display! What are the chances?
Mind you I have ever met or talked to Ashley prior to our visit. I don’t typically tell artists that I’m going to match their work before I do so, so our meeting was purely coincidental!
I loved Ashley’s work when I saw it online and seeing it in person definitely sealed the deal. The best part is this story has an even happier ending - I’m going to be showing her work at the gallery!
To find Ashely’s mural called Camille, go to First Draft Brewery on 1309 26th Street, Denver, CO 80205 and it’s in the alley!
