Rising Stars: Meet Ashlee Elease of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashlee Elease.

Hi Ashlee, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi, my name is Ashlee Elease. Who I am today came from having audacity and years of perseverance to align with my inner artist. I grew up in East New York, Brooklyn, in a house full of family—my parents, my big brother, my grandmother, and my uncles. It was a home rich in Jamaican culture, delicious food, stories told by my grandmother, and a true sense of healing.

My uncles were in a rap group when I was a kid,I would sit by the stairs just to vibe out with them. It was so cool to see them in their element with such creative lyricism and hot beats. My grandma called it ‘devil music,’ but they kept going no matter what. I loved music so much—its many genres, how it made you feel, and how healing it could be. My dad was the very first to introduce me to the arts: music, drawing, how to write a song at age five, and how to embrace my whimsical, eclectic personality. My dad use to be in a band before I was born ,He played the bass, he’s a self taught pianist and could sketch your face on the spot ,just an all around creative that I grew up looking up to. I would create short stories, write songs, make collages and vision boards on my wall.

I was a rebellious child growing up. I always had something to say, very inquisitive, I knew who I was, and possessed a strong personality with a huge imagination. My bedroom was my sanctuary for all things creative. I danced as well. My bedroom door had a cool mirror illusion—it looked like a normal mirror for the living room, but when you pulled the handle in the middle, it would fold open to reveal my bedroom.That was the coolest thing to me. I would make up dance moves and perform with a microphone as if I were putting on my own show in front of that mirror daily.

Dancing was healing for me. I would spend hours learning Aaliyah’s dance from her ‘Are You That Somebody?’ music video, or any new dance that came out on shows like Video Music Box hosted by Ralph McDaniels or Flava Videos on BCAT, a Brooklyn broadcast network. My neighborhood homegirls and I would make up routines and have singing battles.
At 14, I wanted to take formal dance classes. A friend of mine was doing tap, and I was fascinated. I quickly asked my parents if I could take classes, and they agreed.My classes were at The Dance Spot in Canarsie, Brooklyn. I danced there for two years and performed in two recitals. I felt so alive on stage—I had this deep hunger to dance and perform.
During the summertime, I went to a local recreation center called “The Big Apple.” You could play sports, take art classes, swim, dance, and do step. At the end of the summer, they held a talent show, and I participated in three segments: African dance, Hip-Hop, and Step. Afterward, there was an award ceremony I didn’t even know about. I sat in the audience just to watch, and suddenly, I heard my name called: “Ashlee!” I ran up to the podium, so happy and surprised—yet deep down, it made sense. I had put in endless hours dancing at home since I was a kid. Holding that trophy felt right; I had earned it!

I went back to my block to show my friends. Sitting on the curb with them, so elated, it was a true celebratory moment. When I got home, I placed the trophy on the mantel across from the doorway so I could see it every day.
Time went by, and one day I looked at the mantel—and my trophy was gone. I asked my mother if she knew where it was. Her response: “I threw it away. It was breaking.”
My heart broke in two. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. A trophy I had worked so hard for was tossed in the trash.I was filled with emotions I couldn’t comprehend. I kept dancing, but only indoors from then on.
I was still singing, too—that was my first love, my love language.
One day, I wanted to record myself on a microphone through the stereo, singing along to my favorite songs. There was a record store across Linden Boulevard from my house where I used to buy the latest mixtapes from DJ Clue, DJ Enuff, and Funkmaster Flex. I walked in and asked the owner if he had any microphones.

His first response was, “You sing? “Yes,” I said, with complete confidence.
He told me he had his own show on BCAT and asked if I’d be interested in having him manage me. I couldn’t answer on the spot—I was only 15 and needed my parents present—but I knew what I wanted. I told him, “My mother comes home at 7:00 PM. Ring the bottom bell so you can talk to her about this.”
When she answered the door, he began pitching the opportunity. My mother cut him off, said, “Sorry, not interested,” and slammed the door closed. My dreams felt distant after all the tears I spent grooming myself as an artist. At 17 I got into modeling through a cousin of mine. Every time I saw her, she had a different hairstyle for shoots with Hype Hair Magazine in Manhattan. She told me to contact the photographer if I wanted to be featured. I went for an interview with my comp card—a composite card with a headshot on the front, four of your best photos on the back, and your height, weight, and measurements. Modeling was fun; I got to dress up, pose, and get paid for it.
Modeling was fun; I got to dress up, pose, and get paid for it.
At the age of 20, I left home and moved to a new state. I felt an overwhelming urge to start a new life in an unfamiliar place—to escape the noise of my past and figure out who I was outside of my hometown. In the name of love, I relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina for a relationship .The modeling scene was very slow, with very little work, so I stopped. Over the next six years, with no real support system out there, I felt like I was losing my identity. Eventually, the relationship turned sour, and we went our separate ways.
In 2014, I moved to California. I had visited back in 2011 and always felt a calling to make it my home. I grew up on movies and TV shows set in California that left a big impression on me—the people seemed creative and eclectic, and the scenery was beautiful. I was fascinated. I bought a one-way Greyhound ticket to Los Angeles.

Once there, I had to get acclimated and meet people. I took on gig work, cleaning homes through Handy and working as a background actor with Central Casting in Burbank. I was still figuring out what I wanted to do while healing my inner child wounds. In a place like California, any dream felt possible. Living in LA, surrounded by creatives, my inner child was being fed every day. I shared a room with female actors, dancers, and artists, and their energy inspired me.
Then, life threw me a loop: I had a spiritual awakening in 2016. My perception of life transformed—I became clairvoyant, activating gifts that had been dormant for years. I spent a year studying astrology, intuition, and numerology, gaining deep self-awareness. 2018, my friend Sheila introduced me to Nichiren Buddhism. I began chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (devotion to the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra). I chanted for five minutes out loud with her via face time and in my mind, asking for a creative job doing what I loved. A week later, I received a DM on an Instagram page where I casually posted photos taken on my iPhone 10 of sunsets and landscapes. A woman messaged me asking, “How much do you charge?” As a total newbie, I told her $50 an hour.

Just like that, I manifested becoming a photographer within a single week. My first gig was shooting the Goddess Rebellion retreat on Malibu Beach, and for the next three years, I stayed booked doing photoshoots for entrepreneurs across LA for 2 years. I was going through a spiritual evolution while all of this was happening I was drawn to an oracle deck with my friend and she asked me if I wanted it and from that day I started doing live readings on Instagram it was apart of my calling to be a spiritual guide . I shared my spiritual journey with my peers on social media, it was new for me but I love channeling messages from higher realms,God was guiding me every step of the way of my journey.

By 2021, I was in transition once again. I had been nomadic for over a 20 years , searching for myself and trying to align with my soul’s purpose.

One morning while staying at a friend’s house, I felt a heavy restlessness and couldn’t get out of bed. Then I heard a voice in my mind say, “Move, move, move” in a deep, powerful tone. Startled, I dropped to the floor to pray and chant. I said, “God, if this is you, give me a clear sign of where you want me to go: Chicago or Vegas.”those were the two locations I had in mind.

A friend of mine I use to live with in North Carolina had recently asked if I wanted to move back to back but I really didn’t want to return there; my mind was set on Vegas or Chicago. That morning I was on my
a hot spring. When I arrived a woman approached me asking if I could take a photo of her and her friends. Afterward, as we all sat basking quietly in nature, she suddenly said out loud, “I feel called to move to North Carolina.” I knew I had asked for a sign, but that wasn’t the one I was hoping for! It felt downright eerie.

The next day, my friend and I had a recording session. Her engineer walked in and said, “Hey guys, I just got back from North Carolina.” At this point, I was arguing with the universe: What is with these signs? Vegas or Chicago—not North Carolina!

A few days later, my friend was driving me somewhere at night. We passed a building with a neon sign that read RALEIGH STUDIOS. My mouth dropped open. I was divinely given the city and state and that was the moment I knew where God wanted me to be . A ticket was booked, and I was off to Raleigh, North Carolina once again.

I arrived back in North Carolina in the summer of 2021. I didn’t initially understand why I was back, but it turned out to be exactly what I needed: a full rebirth.

God called me back to NC to heal. Surrounded by peace and nature, that stillness allowed me to tap back into my inner artist. My friend’s mother, was a crafter, she took me to Michael’s one day. My eyes widened—I had never been inside an art supply store before! I bought a canvas, and it transported me to a creative space I hadn’t visited in years due to my trauma.

I began creating paintings straight from my visions. My first sold piece came to me in the shower a flash of colors baby blue ,pink and a butterfly. I took it as a sign to paint it, and not long after, it found a home with a friend’s daughter in California. I was over the moon.

Around that time, I was drawn to read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, which changed my life. Writing Morning Pages and taking myself on Artist Dates became deeply healing. After a 22 year artist block, I was being set apart to reactivate my art, I needed to step away from distractions and sit with myself. God led me cross country to go within and heal little Ashlee.

I began to frolic and enjoy my solitude just as I did as a child, fully aligning with my inner child. Everything I had put on my bedroom walls growing up was manifested right before my eyes over the years . I became the model, the photographer, and now a mixed-media artist that’s still blooming and learning to embody all my gifts instead of forcing myself into a single niche.

My time in North Carolina had come to a close. I am so thankful to my friend and her parents who held space for me through many pivotal years of my life. I treasure the peace Raleigh gave me—being surrounded by nature allowed me to birth my paintings and learn how to be still and go within. I had to be pruned and groomed in spirit to align fully with my inner artist.

It was time to make another move. Atlanta had always been on my radar, known for its rich music scene, vibrant culture, and endless creative opportunities for Black artists. Taking the leap for Atlanta felt like the right choice.

Now, almost two years into living here, it’s been a total rollercoaster—but I love a good challenge. Being in Atlanta has built my perseverance, patience, and consistency. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with a super flat art style focused on warrior women, and I’m currently working on merging that with the abstract line art I’ve been crafting for the past four years since returning to my craft.

Building real momentum, I was recently featured in two art shows this past May and June. It was pure joy for little Ashlee, who waited so long for moments like this. To top it off, I just launched my jewelry line, FLY FEM—designed for the Fly, Free, and Divine women. I used to sketch jewelry designs as a kid, so seeing everything come full circle is a deeply beautiful experience on a soul level.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There were many times I had fallouts with people, roommates, strangers on my soul journey, but being from New York, I can definitely hold my own. I’ve had people who wanted to see me fail. My whole life has been an initiation for something bigger than me. I’ve been through years of fights, being bullied most my life, and having to fight to stay on my square that people badly wanted me off of. I’ve had my neighborhood of Brooklyn talk ill of me through my childhood which helped me move away. I needed to leave my hometown behind to be me—somewhere else where I can thrive and not have to look over my shoulder or be ostracized by people who claim to know me but never really did. You can call it escapism, I call it freedom. Sometimes a location can hold you hostage and keep you from growing into who you’re meant to be.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a multifaceted woman who is a Jane of many trades. I’ve worn many hats—some call me a polymath, but I’m just a multi-passionate woman who has many different talents.I’m an artist. I create emotions through my artistry, I provoke thought, I capture photos sunsets and candid photos of a child joyfully playing, I’m the wind admiring its breeze. In an oracle reader that delivers messages from the divine to give my clients and the collective an understanding of the energy that’s on the earth that resonates with their growth.

I’m most proud that I’m healing my inner child, giving her the adventurous life she always wanted, to paint canvases for a living, to get lost in imagination. I’m proud that I never gave up on the artist in me.

What sets me apart? My obedience to the calling on my life through the arts. I’m an intuitive artist—everything I paint, capture, is all a part of divine vision through my downloads and dreams. Every step I take is a step closer to my destiny, each step is closer to me breaking generational curses. This is bigger than me. To know it took me decades to share my art, my mind, to be seen because the scars and fears were blinding me—not anymore. I broke out of my 22 year childhood trauma and artist block. Everyday I’m starting with a blank canvas. I am the vessel that has to release all the best of Ashlee Elease.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Send me email to Ashleeelease@gmail.com tell me your concept and we can arrange something, I look forward to collaborating with other artists and creatives.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ashlee-elease.bigcartel.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/iamashlee.elease
• Twitter: https://x.com/ashleeelease
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AshleeElease
• Soundcloud: soundcloud.c0m/ashleebthe1