Ashli Harper’s art was displayed throughout the Tampa Event
Ashli Harper graduated from Durant High School in 2006. She earned a degree in Criminal Justice, then worked at a juvenile detention center for several years. Then she felt like she wanted to try something different, so she became a flight attendant as a step to a new career as a commercial pilot, Her employer at the time offered a program in which Harper could continue to work while being trained as a pilot. And she did work her way to becoming a commercial pilot. but, “I was furloughed during the pandemic,” she said. “So, being a person who was used to being out and about, doing things in isolation kind of got to me. Then, I was diagnosed with cancer, and I was trying to figure out how I could manage all the emotions I was experiencing…. It seemed like nothing was going right. “I spent a couple of days wallowing, but then I told myself, ‘Alright—cancer is not an automatic death sentence. We can fight this.”
Harper drew pencil sketches as a teenager, which calmed her mind. So, she returned to art. “I got my first acrylic paint set,” she said. “It just kind of blossomed from there. I enjoyed it, and it quieted my mind. Then I started trying different mediums. I just kept building and building, and that is how I got here. It was a way to find some sort of peace. Art was the best way I could express my emotions in a fulfilling way. It became my outlet. I love seeing a blank canvas, then seeing what it turns into. It never ends up the way I want it to, but still I really enjoy the process. It makes me slow down, gather up whatever is inside, then get it out. It gives me a way to connect with others without having to speak. I would hope they could get a glimpse of what I am feeling or thinking by viewing my art.”
Her work, “The Fight” is a product of what she was feeling at that time. “It is odd, because once I finished that painting, I couldn’t even stand to look at it for so long,” Harper said…