Ryan Ashley
{{short description|American tattoo artist (born 1987)}}
{{good article}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ryan Ashley
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1987|4|29}}{{Cite tweet|number=1122913473057443840|user=paramountnet|title=Today we're sending birthday love to @inkmaster's resident girl boss, @RyanAshleyM!|author=Paramount Network|date=April 29, 2019}}{{Cite tweet|number=990606641417437190|user=inkmaster|title=Happy birthday, @ryanashleym! 🎁 🎈|author=Ink Master|date=April 29, 2018}}{{Cite web|title=About|url=https://ryan-ashley-malarkey.format.com/about|access-date=2022-02-14|website=Ryan Ashley Malarkey's Portfolio|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210710213347/https://ryan-ashley-malarkey.format.com/about|archive-date=July 10, 2021|url-status=dead}}
| birth_place =
| alma_mater = Fashion Institute of Technology
| occupation = Tattoo artist
| spouse = {{marriage|Arlo DiCristina|2019}}
| children = 1
}}
Ryan Ashley DiCristina{{cite magazine|url=https://www.inkedmag.com/original-news/mommamalarkey|title=Momma Malarkey|magazine=Inked Magazine|date=March 18, 2020|author=Ryan Ashley DiCristina|access-date=May 16, 2021|archive-date=May 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516142832/https://www.inkedmag.com/original-news/mommamalarkey|url-status=live}} (née Malarkey, born April 29, 1987), known as Ryan Ashley, is an American tattoo artist known for her appearances on the television shows Ink Master and its spin-offs. Her signature style reflects her training and experience as a fashion designer: Ashley specializes in black-and-gray designs with beadwork, lace detail, and ornamental jewels. Ashley won Ink Master{{'s}} season eight competition in 2016 and in the following years returned to host a spin-off show (Angels), judge another spin-off (Grudge Match), and judge in the main series. She co-owns a tattoo shop in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Early life and career
Ashley was raised in Dallas, a small borough in northeast Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley. Her single mother worked at a fast food restaurant while taking night school in accounting. Ashley's mother, who was also an artist, taught her how to draw.{{r|ESPNW}} She graduated from Fashion Institute of Technology in 2007{{r|IBT: first}} and spent five years as a fashion designer in New York City at a private label,{{r|ESPNW}} where she designed beadwork, lace details, embroidery, and appliqués for garments. Her intricate tattoo style would later reflect these themes.{{r|Inked-2017}}
Seeking a career outside of a traditional office environment, Ashley returned to Pennsylvania to apprentice as a tattoo artist. Her experience working at a street shop (a tattoo parlor that takes walk-in requests) convinced her to only work by appointment.{{r|ESPNW}} Ashley and Josh Balz, her then partner, opened a shop in Kingston, Pennsylvania in 2013, The Strange and Unusual Oddities Parlor. Ashley tattooed from the back of the shop while the front featured their collection of taxidermy, objects, and restored antiques for sale.{{r|AP: Balz int}} The latter had been a hobby from her youth, when she had attended yard and estate sales with her mother and grandmother.{{r|Inked-2017}} The couple opened a second shop in Philadelphia with taxidermist business partners.{{r|AP: Balz int}}
Ashley's signature black-and-gray{{r|IBT: first}} tattoo designs feature beadwork, lace detail, and ornamental jewels. When designing filigree, she references Victorian furniture scrollwork. She references bridal accessories and chandeliers for her beading designs, and old, illustrated wildlife books for animal and bird designs.{{r|Inked-2017}} Her clients have included rock musicians Maria Brink and Ash Costello.{{r|AP scene}}
=''Ink Master''=
In late 2016, Ashley appeared on Ink Master, a reality competition television series in which tattoo artists participate in artistic challenges to outlast other competitors and receive the season's title and monetary prize.{{r|TL: wins}} Ashley was the eighth season's champion, the first woman to win the title.{{r|Buckle: almost}} Mic noted the occasion as a moment for female tattoo artists, who are subject to social stigmas in a male-dominated profession.{{r|Buckle: struggle}} Under Ashley, the women on the show formed an alliance to outlast their competitors.{{Cite magazine |last1=Dreyfuss |first1=Emily |title=How 'Ink Master' Became an Unexpected Lesson in Feminist Strategy |magazine=Wired |date=2016-12-06 |url=https://www.wired.com/2016/12/ink-master-feminist-amplification/ |access-date=December 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222091322/https://www.wired.com/2016/12/ink-master-feminist-amplification/ |archive-date=December 22, 2016 |url-status=live }} The show's executive producer said it was the first time such an alliance had held throughout the season.{{Cite web |last1=Remling |first1=Amanda |title='Ink Master' Showrunner Breaks Down Season 8 Female Alliance |work=International Business Times |date=2016-10-18 |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/ink-master-showrunner-breaks-down-season-8-female-alliance-2433542 |access-date=2018-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503230817/http://www.ibtimes.com/ink-master-showrunner-breaks-down-season-8-female-alliance-2433542 |archive-date=May 3, 2018 |url-status=live }} With only five years of tattoo experience, she won the title as a relative newcomer.{{r|ESPNW}} She entered the show to develop new areas of tattooing expertise and test herself.{{r|Inked-2017}} She had been approached to participate in previous seasons of the show, but declined for scheduling conflicts.{{r|Buckle: almost}}
Ashley is featured in the two seasons of Ink Master: Angels, a spin-off from Ink Master in which Ashley and several co-competitors from the main series' eighth season traveled across the United States to face off against local tattoo artists.{{r|Deadline: Angels s2}} Winners received spots in the next season of Ink Master.{{r|TL: Angels s1 announce|TL: Angels s1 debut}} The show appeared on Paramount Network in 2017 and 2018.{{r|Deadline: Angels s2}} Angels was originally planned as a one-hour special with the same premise, but expanded into a full-season spin-off.{{r|TL: Angels s1 announce}} Ashley later served as a judge in another spin-off, Ink Master: Grudge Match (2019).{{Cite web |last1=Petski |first1=Denise |title='Ink Master' Renewed For Two More Seasons; Spinoff 'Grudge Match' Ordered By Paramount Network |work=Deadline |date=2019-05-07 |url=https://deadline.com/2019/05/ink-master-renewed-two-seasons-spinoff-grudge-match-paramount-network-1202608219/ |language=en |access-date=2019-05-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508151311/https://deadline.com/2019/05/ink-master-renewed-two-seasons-spinoff-grudge-match-paramount-network-1202608219/ |archive-date=May 8, 2019 |url-status=live }} As part of the show's revamped format, Ashley returned to Ink Master as a judge in 2022 (season 14){{Cite web|last=Shafer|first=Ellise|title='Ink Master' Sets Premiere Date on Paramount+, Joel Madden to Host|url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/ink-master-return-premiere-date-paramount-plus-joel-madden-host-1235334086/|work=Variety|date=August 5, 2022|access-date=August 5, 2022|archive-date=August 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805150026/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/ink-master-return-premiere-date-paramount-plus-joel-madden-host-1235334086/|url-status=live}} and continued into the 15th season the next year.{{Cite web |last1=West |first1=Dan |title=Local tattoo artist returning as judge on Ink Master |work=The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel |date=2023-11-01 |url=https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/local-tattoo-artist-returning-as-judge-on-ink-master/article_47260d72-7841-11ee-8c4f-6bc4b75ab5dc.html |language=en |access-date=2023-11-05 |df=mdy-all |archive-date=November 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105165047/https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/local-tattoo-artist-returning-as-judge-on-ink-master/article_47260d72-7841-11ee-8c4f-6bc4b75ab5dc.html |url-status=live }}
She owns Elysium Studios, a tattoo parlor in a restored church in Grand Junction, Colorado, with her husband. Elysium hosts tattoo guest and resident artists based on Ashley's connections with Ink Master.{{r|S15}}
Personal life
Ashley was formerly{{Cite web |last1=Pettigrew |first1=Jason |title=Josh Balz talks life after Motionless In White |work=Alternative Press |date=2019-02-12 |url=https://www.altpress.com/features/josh-balz-strange-kids-oddity-shop-noir-nights/ |language=en-US |access-date=2019-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212190635/https://www.altpress.com/features/josh-balz-strange-kids-oddity-shop-noir-nights/ |archive-date=February 12, 2019 |url-status=live }} engaged to Josh Balz, former keyboardist in the metal band Motionless in White.{{r|Buckle: almost|IBT: first}} She married tattooer Arlo DiCristina in late 2019.{{r|Inked married}} Their son, Atheus, was born in May 2020. She announced both her relationship with DiCristina and her pregnancy on covers of Inked magazine.{{Cite web |last1=Preston |first1=Devon |title=Ryan Ashley Gives Birth to Healthy Baby Boy |work=Inked |date=2020-05-18 |url=https://www.inkedmag.com/original-news/atheusdicristina |language=en |access-date=2020-05-20 |df=mdy-all |archive-date=May 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524092304/https://www.inkedmag.com/original-news/atheusdicristina |url-status=live }}
She returned to New York City in 2018.{{r|Inked-2019}} As of 2019, she lives and works in Grand Junction, Colorado,{{r|Inked married}} where she and DiCristina own Elysium Studios.{{r|S15}}
Ashley posted to her Instagram account on May 30, 2024, that she was going through a divorce.https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7nHxEloLDS/?igsh=c2NkZW05bDl1Mmt6
References
{{reflist|refs=
{{Cite web |title=Interview with Motionless In White's Josh Balz, co-owner of The Strange and Unusual Oddities Parlor |work=Alternative Press |date=2015-11-02 |url=https://www.altpress.com/features/interview_with_josh_balz_co_owner_of_the_strange_and_unusual_oddities_parlo/ |language=en-US |access-date=2018-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709011125/https://www.altpress.com/features/interview_with_josh_balz_co_owner_of_the_strange_and_unusual_oddities_parlo/ |archive-date=July 9, 2018 |url-status=live }}
{{Cite web |last1=Al-Sharif |first1=Rabab |title=Scene-loved tattoo artist Ryan Ashley Malarkey could be first woman to win Ink Master |work=Alternative Press |date=2016-12-05 |url=https://www.altpress.com/news/scene_loved_tattoo_artist_ryan_ashley_malarkey_could_be_first_woman_to_win/ |language=en-US |access-date=2018-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224075417/https://www.altpress.com/news/scene_loved_tattoo_artist_ryan_ashley_malarkey_could_be_first_woman_to_win/ |archive-date=December 24, 2018 |url-status=live }}
{{Cite web |last1=Buckle |first1=Amanda |title='Ink Master' winner Ryan Ashley almost appeared on another season |work=Mic |date=2016-12-07 |url=https://mic.com/articles/161457/ink-master-winner-ryan-ashley-malarkey-almost-appeared-on-another-season-of-the-show |language=en |access-date=2018-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222221310/https://mic.com/articles/161457/ink-master-winner-ryan-ashley-malarkey-almost-appeared-on-another-season-of-the-show |archive-date=December 22, 2018 |url-status=live }}
{{Cite web |last1=Buckle |first1=Amanda |title='Ink Master' finalist Ryan Ashley reveals struggles of female tattoo artists |work=Mic |date=2016-12-05 |url=https://mic.com/articles/161189/ink-master-season-8-finalist-ryan-ashley-reveals-struggles-of-female-tattoo-artists |language=en |access-date=2018-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327214330/https://mic.com/articles/161189/ink-master-season-8-finalist-ryan-ashley-reveals-struggles-of-female-tattoo-artists |archive-date=March 27, 2017 |url-status=live }}
{{Cite web |last1=Barnes |first1=Katie |title=Meet Ryan Ashley, the first woman to be crowned 'Ink Master' |work=ESPNW |date=2016-12-06 |url=http://www.espn.com/espnw/culture/article/18243461/meet-ryan-ashley-first-woman-crowned-ink-master |access-date=2018-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728175945/http://www.espn.com/espnw/culture/article/18243461/meet-ryan-ashley-first-woman-crowned-ink-master |archive-date=July 28, 2017 |url-status=live }}
{{Cite web |last1=Petski |first1=Denise |title=Ink Master: Angels Renewed For Season 2 By Paramount Network |work=Deadline Hollywood |date=2017-11-21 |url=https://deadline.com/2017/11/ink-master-angels-renewed-season-2-paramount-network-1202213117/ |language=en |access-date=2018-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620024700/https://deadline.com/2017/11/ink-master-angels-renewed-season-2-paramount-network-1202213117/ |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |url-status=live }}
{{Cite web |last1=Vultaggio |first1=Maria |title=Who Is Ryan Ashley Malarkey? Ink Master Star Becomes First Female Tattoo Artist To Win Spike Competition |work=International Business Times |date=2016-12-07 |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/who-ryan-ashley-malarkey-ink-master-star-becomes-first-female-tattoo-artist-win-spike-2456456 |access-date=2018-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216133011/http://www.ibtimes.com/who-ryan-ashley-malarkey-ink-master-star-becomes-first-female-tattoo-artist-win-spike-2456456 |archive-date=February 16, 2018 |url-status=live }}
{{Cite news |last1=Preston |first1=Devon |title=The First Lady |work=Inked Magazine |issue=83 |pages=76 |date=April 2017 |issn=1555-8630 |url=https://www.inkedmag.com/tattoos-3/ryan-ashley-malarkey-ink-masters-first-lady |access-date=December 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224070004/https://www.inkedmag.com/tattoos-3/ryan-ashley-malarkey-ink-masters-first-lady |archive-date=December 24, 2018 |url-status=live }}
{{Cite news |last1=Roessler |first1=Peter |title=All My Love |work=Inked Magazine |issue=95 |pages=53 |date=January 2019 |issn=1555-8630 }}
{{Cite web |last1=Preston |first1=Devon |title=Ryan Ashley and Arlo DiCristina Tie the Knot! |work=Inked Magazine |date=2019-10-15 |url=https://www.inkedmag.com/original-news/ryanashley-arlodicristina-wedding |language=en |access-date=2019-10-19 |df=mdy-all |archive-date=October 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019125304/https://www.inkedmag.com/original-news/ryanashley-arlodicristina-wedding |url-status=live }}
{{Cite web |last1=Mattei |first1=Matt |title=Shavertown artist Ryan Ashley Malarkey to star in new Ink Master spin-off |work=Times Leader |date=2017-06-05 |url=https://www.timesleader.com/news/661809/shavertown-artist-ryan-ashley-malarkey-to-star-in-new-ink-master-spin-off |language=en-US |access-date=2018-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002153608/http://www.timesleader.com/news/661809/shavertown-artist-ryan-ashley-malarkey-to-star-in-new-ink-master-spin-off |archive-date=October 2, 2017 |url-status=live }}
{{Cite web |last1=Mattei |first1=Matt |title=NEPA artist and Ink Master champion Ryan Ashley Malarkey stars on new show |work=Times Leader |date=2017-09-29 |url=http://www.timesleader.com/features/677067/nepa-artist-and-ink-master-champion-ryan-ashley-malarkey-stars-on-new-show |access-date=2017-10-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002193218/http://www.timesleader.com/features/677067/nepa-artist-and-ink-master-champion-ryan-ashley-malarkey-stars-on-new-show |archive-date=October 2, 2017 |url-status=live }}
{{Cite web |last1=Mattei |first1=Matt |title=Ryan Malarkey, of Shavertown, wins Ink Master title, $100,000 in New York |work=Times Leader |date=2016-12-06 |url=https://www.timesleader.com/news/613525/ryan-malarkey-of-shavertown-wins-ink-master-title-100000-in-new-york |language=en-US |access-date=2018-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713052328/http://timesleader.com/news/613525/ryan-malarkey-of-shavertown-wins-ink-master-title-100000-in-new-york |archive-date=July 13, 2017 |url-status=live }}
}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://www.ryanashley.com/}}
- [https://ryan-ashley-malarkey.format.com/ Portfolio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224060651/https://ryan-ashley-malarkey.format.com/ |date=December 24, 2018 }}
{{Ink Master}}
{{Portal bar|Biography}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashley, Ryan}}
Category:American tattoo artists
Category:Artists from Pennsylvania
Category:Fashion Institute of Technology alumni
Category:Participants in American reality television series