The Martian Chronicles w/ Ashley Wallace

a bastion of wellness and virtue with a soft spot for the rabid.

Hi, Ashley. I love you. Who are you? What do you do? What’s your favorite book?

HI ARCHIE. I love you too my friend! Right now I do job applications because I’m unemployed, but hopefully by 2035 I’m an architect. Since grad I’ve been doing a lot of paint by numbers while being unemployed. If you want a real deal you can score one by the brand Artist’s Loft and it comes with a frame and everything. I love music and any music too. Whatever makes you get down. Mostly all I draw– a lot. I love robots and nature and explosions. I’ve currently been interested a lot in wrestling scenes.

Holy shit how could I forget the most important question… My favorite book even after all these years is The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury.

Why did you choose The Martian Chronicles? And why these pages?

I really love The Martian Chronicles because it’s not just a cheesy martian with six eyes story, but also a reflection of human behavior. The book explores a lot of consequences of imperialism, environmental greed, and cultural erasure in a way that is actually out of this world. Martian culture is obviously not something we can comprehend. Bradbury shows the waste, loneliness, and loss. It makes me wonder if we will ever change, or if we are doomed to carry our worst traits as a species with us no matter how far we go.

The passage I chose specifically is about a human father who is settled on Mars, named Lafarge. Him and his wife lost their son. Lafarge clings to the hope that a mysterious boy is really his lost son—but the boy is a Martian who reflects the needs of whoever sees him.

Ultimately, behavior is shaped by longing and in our search for comfort or truth, we sometimes lose sight of reality.

Is being a coxswain scary? Why’s it called that?

It’s scary because you are driving a long ass boat with two strings in a body of water with lots of invisible foreign objects underneath you. When you know how much the boat actually fucking costs it is really fucking scary. I liked yelling and screaming and the energy from all the racing so that was fun. I wish I knew why it was called that. They might as well call it penis swain.

How do you organize your playlists?

OH THIS IS EXCITING. I love this question. So since 2018 for every single month I have made a playlist. There was a time where I did different color schemes for each month (2018) And for a while a couple years back up to now I’ve been using a photo from that month that is significant to how the month is feeling that I’ve taken during that month. Now I’ve been wanting to fuck around with the spotify cover art stuff and am trying to see what I can do with it (see playlist 06_25, aka June 2025). I also love a good genre playlist (such as “I’m cyborg but that’s okay”) or just a time capsule for my favorite artists. One of my favorite playlists of a favorite artist is my “Man, I love Title Fight”. Amen. I also do playlists for different periods of my life, a lot of chapters of life are defined by what music I was listening to that made me feel my best at the time. Oh shit. I also have a series of playlists called Spirit Desire, based off my favorite song by Tiger’s Jaw. But Basically they’re all collections of my favorite love songs. If you ever want to yearn for a special someone, use these. AND SPEAKING OF BOOKS – I also make playlists for books and when I reread books I play the playlist in the background. Trust me. It is all connected and it enhances everything. I’m gonna add screenshots of my favorite ones.

Where can I get a good sandwich in Bethesda, Maryland?

EINSTEIN BAGELS HOLY SHIT. THAT PLACE IS FUCKIN AWESOME. I used to always get the Texas Brisket Egg Sandwich and if I was feeling really good I would ask for caramelized onions on it too. I miss them so dearly.

Ashley is cyborg made by the U.S military to design the cities of the future, or maybe just live a little. You may have spotted her basking in the sun atop the Ruggles traffic circle, or were lucky enough to tune into her short-lived-late-night-early-morning radio show. If not, you can still bask in her fearsome portfolio, or tune into her beautiful illustrations.

How does the process/feeling of drawing differ “creatively” vs. architecturally?

I feel like both disciplines could stand to learn from each other. My illustrations could be more calculated and proportional, with more intention on how it’s composed. I also think I could stand to shit myself less when it comes to doing a construction drawing or doing any drawing for architecture work. I think the stakes just feel higher when there’s an actual Incorrect way to do something. Creative drawing will never be wrong, but it can always be better and more precise to reflect more reality, especially in more cartoonish styles.

Would you support a national ban on gas-powered leaf-blowers?

Yeah because there’s gotta be a way for them to be water powered or charged in under 20 minutes with a wall plugin.

What is NOMA? What does it do?

NOMA is the National Organization for Minority Architects. It was founded in 1971 by a group of black architects who wanted to support each other and address the lack of representation in the profession. They are also involved in public service and design justice work.

How did you choose the mediums you create visual art with? Do you intend to ever settle on just one?

Runs In The Family - Procreate (2020)

optimus prime is really cool - tools pictured (2022)

How do you view brotherhood ? mixed paint & collage (2024)

Honestly these are the ones I am comfortable with! I’ve been doing digital paintings like “Runs in the Family” since I was about 14, so those are always comforting to go back to. I don't do as much digital art as I used to back then because now my computer is consumed with architecture stuff and working with paper and ink is something that grounds me and keeps me from frying my eyes and getting a Quasimoto spine. That being said, since school is out I want to jump back into digital work because I’m interested in doing illustrations for card games, like Magic: The Gathering. Could be an interesting and fun side hustle. Also, if anyone has extra Magic cards they are not using, hand that shit over because I am building some new decks and need land cards. Settling on one art style or medium is something I will never see coming for me. There’s so much to learn from everything and mixed media will always be where it’s at. Invest in a good photo scanner.

Is the Boston Three-Decker a good urban housing model?

I think they can be, especially as housing that can provide density and affordability without overwhelming a neighborhood. BUT… They need thoughtful policy support and accessibility updates to reach potential.

City and state grants can help owners restore or adapt older triple-deckers, especially in historic districts. Oh also updating zoning to allow accessory units or slight expansions could also make these homes more usable and affordable while maintaining neighborhood character. Programs like Mass Save and BERDO are pretty interesting too.

Also accessibility is a big challenge because of narrow entries and stair-only access in some places so policy could support targeted upgrades, especially for ground-floor units—making at least one unit visitable or accessible. Boston could also explore small grants to encourage accessibility improvements, especially for seniors and disabled folks.

Who’s your favorite character in MOB PSYCHO 100?

I love Reigen. He’s funny as fuck and also is kind of an asshole and I’m rooting for him. Mob is badass too. But Reigen is cool because he is also so ordinary.