These are the things that bring me to my studio space. The duality of nature and the city. The push and pull of chaos and control. Capturing moments in time, taking me back to a feeling, a sound, a smell.
Color is my language.
My students brought me here. I found my first art teaching job at a special needs school in New York City. My students had emotional or physical needs that could not be met in the mainstream school system. It was a tough first year, but when my students made connections through the arts, I knew this is where I had to be.
The arts became our language.
For the next decade I worked to develop my students’ talents and skills. Showing them they could do things others told them they could not. My students competed at the highest levels and their art was displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC (MoMA).
Art became their language. A vehicle for expressing themselves when often the traditional avenues weren’t available to them.
It took seeing my students’ achievements to truly forge my own path. I, like them, needed to continue to create my own work. To find and create my own language. Their courage led me to take the important leap from teacher to artist.
Monica is a native New Yorker who most recently found her way back to DC after living in the Midwest and Puerto Rico. She holds degrees in Visual Arts Education and Teaching Students with Disabilities. As an artist, educator and mother, she draws inspiration from the world around her and her personal experiences as a new mom during the pandemic. Using color as a language, she captures emotions and memories that are difficult to express. Monica is influenced by past and present mother artists who have paved the way for women artists to be creative both inside and outside of their homes. You can usually find her throughout the city with her sidekick dog, Marilyn. Drop a line anytime to say hello or visit her on Instagram.
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