Ash Miyagawa

My name is Ash Miyagawa (she / her / hers) and I am a multidisciplinary designer and illustrator based in Chicago, Illinois.

In a sentence, how would you describe your work?
a little rock & roll, a little heavy petal

Do you have any favorite themes you enjoy working with? 
Lately: skulls, Japanese Yokai, loud texture & interesting color juxtapositions.

What mediums do you like to work in? 
All of them, but I'm partial to ink.

As an artist, are there any tools that you would perish if you left the house without them? 
Headphones. Everything else follows.

Do you have a dream project you'd like to work on someday?
Tinned Fish branding & packaging.

What is the strangest/goofiest (PG) fact about yourself that you're comfortable sharing?
I'm currently also an Ikebana Ikenobo student—studying the Japanese art of floral arrangement.

What drew you to the imagery of tattoos? 
I love the permanence of tattoos and the history behind symbols that connect all of us but hold such special individual meaning. There's also a certain amount of boldness required to walk into a shop and pick something off the wall last second that will be with you for a lifetime—that sort of reckless self posession is something I'm always striving for. 

Can you talk a little about your design process? Where do you draw your inspiration from, and how do you work shop your design from draft to final? 
I start with an idea, and I let strategy (what is the project for, WHO is the project for, what is the feeling I want a particular piece to capture) and gut feeling guide me. Then it's iterative finessing until I get to the final piece. Inspiration comes from everywhere, especially the ordinary and mundane.

Do you have a favorite feature of the sock design? 
It's a tie between the ying yang beetle or the pancake cat.

Ankle or crew socks for preference? 
Crew socks :)

For more of Ash's art, visit her portfolio or Instagram!