We’re so stoked to present our first-ever collaboration with collage artist Ash Bradley, the visionary behind Atomic Sublime, a calendar that transforms vintage pop-culture fragments into playful, surreal worlds. Ash’s work resonates deeply with the Outside Kidz ethos of curiosity, creativity, and joyful experimentation. We both believe that imagination thrives when we stay open, playful, and willing to explore the unexpected.
Her collages invite viewers to look more closely, laugh a little, and let their minds wander. Ash finds inspiration everywhere, from retro imagery to personal metaphors, and reshapes them into imaginative scenes filled with humor, nostalgia, and visual surprises.
We sat down with Ash to talk about her artistic process, the inspirations behind her surreal worlds, and how collage keeps her connected to creativity and play.
Outside Kidz: Can you share how you first discovered collage as your medium? What drew you to it?
Ash Bradley: Collage appealed to me because it allows an opportunity to really Look at an image, ...and think about all of it's possibilities. Take an image of a TV dinner. Where could that TV dinner be heated and eaten? Is it in a period-accurate 1960's kitchen, ...or is it being eaten in space? And just what is in that TV dinner tray? Mashed potatoes? Or, could it instead have a food section that is a hot tub with little people in it? Speaking of hot tub culture... what would be a crazy juxtaposition with a hot tub? Victorian bathers who never take their clothing off and look repressed even when relaxing? Collage is a great exercise in mental free association!
Outside Kidz: Outside Kidz celebrates curiosity and the power of imaginative play. How does playfulness show up in your artwork?
Ash Bradley: I am attracted to humor in all things, and whether a collage subject is darker and more ironic, or is simply playful and light- it always should inspire you to grin a bit. Let everything inspire your imagination because it all deserves to be considered, and collaging is simply playing with that.
Outside Kidz: What do you hope people feel or experience when they flip through the calendar throughout the year?
Ash Bradley: Hopefully the images set a tone that brings a sweet sarcasm for the viewer. It makes me so happy to hear what people see in them, and the stories that they create behind it. They were created as visual diaries that illustrate ideas in my life, and I love that they inspire such different thoughts in others. I genuinely hope that people smile at the works in this calendar!
Outside Kidz: Can you share a moment when a collage surprised you—when it took a turn you didn’t expect?
Ash Bradley: I started collaging with scissors and glue sticks and stacks of vintage National Geographic magazines. Digital collage started due to a lack of space to make paper messes in, and so I started working on my tablet instead. The huge difference is that when you work from a book, magazine, newspaper, etc. -there is an established image that captures your fancy to work with and create from. The accessory that you build the outfit around. With digital, you can have any thought, and then search for the right image. I wouldn't say that one is better than the other for me, but I do appreciate how emotionally connected I can get to an idea, simply by thinking of ways to communicate that. The image comes more directly from my head.
Outside Kidz: If you could describe your art in three words, which would you choose and why?
Ash Bradley: Surreal. (The images should make your brain feel like it's floating a bit.)
Funny. (Humor connects up to people and things from the past, and keeps them relatable to our current lives. Plus, I love to laugh.)
Composition. (Everything, from a circle in the back to an image of a particular plant, is a choice, and I hope that the thoughts behind my collages are communicated with style.)
Outside Kidz: What’s the strangest or most delightful source material you’ve ever incorporated into a collage?
Ash Bradley: I got really into 1960's era cookbooks and science textbooks. Jello molds are like beautiful, translucent sculptures, ...that are also quite creepy and unnatural. Vintage images of space and technology appear so clunky and almost cute by today's futuristic designs. Sort of like a child playing with a tin can and calling it a rocket. It's their imagination and they are not wrong!
Outside Kidz: What’s one quirky or playful thing in your everyday life that always sparks creativity?
Ash Bradley: Opening the refrigerator. Choices, yet sometimes so little choice! There's a lot of ways that you can make a meal.
We’re so excited to share this creative collaboration with you and hope Ash’s work inspires you to explore your own imagination in new ways!
Follow Ash on Instagram @cardboard.sky. Check out the Atomic Sublime calendar to bring Ash’s surreal, playful art into your everyday life.
