Meet Asia Morris | Artist & Engineer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Asia Morris and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Asia, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Just like many other artists trapped behind a 9-5, I picked up drawing again during COVID. I tend to be on the more shy side, so drawing was a great outlet for me to express myself, especially since I didn’t have that many friends having moved to Tucson shortly before COVID. I used to draw a lot growing up, but I never pursued it further than the required art classes in school. Despite being told how creative I am, it was engrained in my head that art was not a successful career, so I put a pin in it and focused on a more “acceptable” career. As I started to draw more during the pandemic, I really fell in love with art again, and I didn’t want to let society or the fact that I already had a career stop me from pursuing art more seriously. Through this journey, I learned how to express who I am as a person through art. I absolutely love all things spooky and horror, but I also have a love for cute and pastel things. I know I am not the only person who loves these two seemingly polar opposite themes, and art helped me put all the things I loved together! I started my art account on Instagram purely for sharing my art, but it didn’t take long for me to find other artists who turned their art into a business. I started designing stickers first, then enamel pins (my favorite!), and now I have expanded to so many other products including hats, shirts, keychains, etc! I never saw myself getting to this point, sharing my art in a physical form and having such a huge following that loves it! Art and creativity have become a part of my daily life, and it is a great break from my 9-5! Although I feel like I work 25 hours a day 8 days a week, I still love coming home from work to draw and create. Nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than when people tell me how happy my art makes them, and I love that those people get to take home my art! It’s crazy that I have the pandemic to thank for it!

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I create spooky and cute artwork in the form of stickers, enamel pins, and apparel/accessories! At first I was afraid my art wouldn’t appeal to anyone but myself since you generally don’t combine spooky and cute, so I had a hard time finding my crowd when I started. I went to Halloween themed events where I was the only pastel blue table in a sea of black and white tables. You’d think it was a good thing I stood out, but my style of spooky cute didn’t catch the eyes of the horror fans. Looking back I don’t know why I thought it would, but had I not tried that first, it would have taken me longer to get where I’m at today. As I started to gain more of a following, more opportunities for events came my way. Some anime themed events started popping up on my feed since I like anime as well, and follow some other artists who focus on anime. My art isn’t too influenced by anime though other than the kawaii aesthetic and a little bit of Japanese culture, but I thought I’d give those events a try anyway. After my first anime themed event, I noticed I stuck out like a sore thumb… again. I was the only booth that didn’t have anime merch, but I was blown away by the amount of support and attention my booth got. Even though my art wasn’t strictly anime, it was a big hit, and so many people came to my booth to tell me how unique my work is compared to others at the event. It was such a relief to stand out in a good way this time! I think finding your crowd is so important. If I had continued to only do the Halloween events I first started with, I’m not sure I would have had the inspiration and motivation to continue creating art. It’s scary to jump around to different crowds, but totally worth it when you find the one that sticks.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I moved to Tucson at the end of 2018 for work, and only had a year to explore the city before the pandemic hit. Luckily, I had friends from college come visit me shortly after I had moved, and ironically showed me around instead of me showing them around! They had a whole itinerary planned out, with every place they wanted to go. Since Tucson is right in the middle of the Saguaro National Park, that has to be one of places to visit! The amount of cacti in this city is truly unbelievable, and they are all so unique and different! A great memory I have of the park is the stories we would make up about the personalities these cacti gave off! Hiking is also very popular in Tucson, in the right months of course! Seven Falls is an awesome hike. You get to cross the water so many times on the way towards these breathtaking waterfalls perfect for swimming, having picnics, and just relaxing! Crossing the water and climbing to the top of the falls can really make someone hungry, and I couldn’t have someone visit Tucson without having Mexican food. If I’m being honest, I am not the biggest fan of Mexican food, so my suggestion is Guadalajara Grill, and it came from the recommendation of the cool kids from the U of A!! I do enjoy this restaurant though and they have a very delicious prickly pear margarita! Speaking of the U of A, 4th avenue has great shops and bars, and one of my favorites to end any awesome day or trip is Cobra, which is this really fun arcade bar with the tastiest gamer themed drinks!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My art career would not have taken off without the encouragement and support of my boyfriend Chris and his family. He and I both have the same 9-5, and he did not hesitate to tell me “go for it” when it came to starting The Hiding Ghost. He is also the first to tell people that I have a small business, since I am too shy to say anything! I wear the enamel pins I created on my backpack and I get a lot of compliments. All I say is “thanks!” because I am too awkward to continue the conversation, but Chris will jump in and say “she designed all of them”. His family has the same mindset in supporting me and jumped in to help me in every way. His mom got me a new drawing tablet after she saw me wear down my old tablet from the early 2000s that I’ve had since I was a kid. She also got me a Cricut cutting machine so I can start making my own stickers at home which was such a huge help when I first started. Without that support, my art would have stayed within the walls of my home. I have no doubt they will always have my back as I continue this journey and I definitely attribute my success so far to them.

Website: thehidingghost.com

Instagram: @thehidingghost

Other: Tik tok: @thehidingghost Pinterest: @thehidingghost