In the course of their lives, a teacher helps many students to achieve outstanding performance or to be successful in their life or their chosen profession. Most of the time, the teacher's contribution to the success of the students goes unnoticed. It is also known that teachers sometimes lack artistic skills, but they encourage students to become successful artists. But it is rare for a teacher teaching his students to develop into a creative person and become a professional artist. Monika Marti from Obfelden is one of those rare people who taught body and soul for 40 years and who has also developed into a fine abstract painter in the last 20 years.
Before the summer holidays in July of this year, Monika retired after four decades as a teacher and headmistress and decided to dedicate the next phase of her life to the family and above all to the artist in her. For the past 8 years she has been the headmistress of the school in the Stallikon community.
It is the beginning of a new chapter in Monika's life. That's why "Carpe Diem - seize the moment (or" pluck the day ")" is their new motto to sail through this transition. For Monika it is her third, perhaps a quiet phase of life. The phase full of offers and opportunities to do what you enjoy, to devote yourself to your interests, to have time and space, to enjoy your free time. She wants to approach each day with the pure awareness of the here and now, and let her heart guide her.
Therefore, this series 'Carpe Diem' illustrates and describes the new ease and joy of being in the moment and appreciating everything as it is. She also wishes this series inspires viewers to understand the importance of being in the moment in order to face the challenging day with ease, inner joy and appreciation of beauty.
Monika finds her motifs and objects for her pictures everywhere. She tries and discovers textures, lines, shadows, reflections, colors and shapes in everything she observes and perceives. She finds her motifs, observes them with searching eyes and then photographs them. After all, she lets her intuition guide her to initiate the next creative process, which is painting. She begins to express herself by painting, writing, printing or pasting pictures and texts, painting and drawing over and over again until she finds the colors and lines that form a poetic whole on a selected surface, be it a canvas, a Paper or a wooden box.
In her work, Monika uses different materials such as acrylic, marble powder, wax, charcoal and different types of pencils. In addition, she uses techniques such as collage, printing, frottage, etc. She is guided by her curiosity as she moves layer by layer until the secret of the creations is revealed to her.
"I was born with creative thinking and imagination. Whether at work or in my artistic work, my creative attitude and my perspectives lead me to embrace the unexpected, to dare something new, to always find an answer or a solution , or sometimes trying something new, combining it or discarding it, or choosing a completely different path, "explains Monika about her method of creative expression.
When we look at her pictures it is very obvious that her inspiration comes largely from nature. Monika is an enthusiastic nature lover and esthete. She admires the beauty in every way. And nature has all the beauties, ingredients and elements it needs to satisfy its creative hunger. On the one hand, she boldly and boldly creates her forms and figures on the chosen medium, without paying attention to the composition or the grammar of the aesthetics. On the other hand, she allows the energy of happiness and joy to flow into her works so that she can tell stories through these works.
When Monika mastered her life as a teacher and artist, she learned the art of juggling both with finesse. Tension and relaxation, movement and rest, abundance and emptiness have accompanied her throughout her professional life. Finding a balance in the hustle and bustle of everyday life was a challenge. But the artistic pursuit always gave her the opportunity to bring a demanding family and professional life under one roof and at the same time to give stability to her mind, body and soul.
Just ten years after starting her career as a teacher, Monika had developed an artistic vision that led her to study various art forms and movements. During her further artistic training and her work in the studio, she learned to deal with various forms of artistic expression and different artistic techniques. Constant curiosity and constant practice ultimately helped her develop and find her own visual language.
But, says Monika with grace, "For 40 years school was an integral part of my life. Both as a teacher and as a headmistress, I was always passionate about it. Now this time is over. I will take on the challenges and I don't miss difficulties, but I miss the children and the team I worked with. "
(Copyright 2021, Deviprasad C Rao. Author is an Artist, Curator, Writer & Artist Facilitator. Founder of Devamitra Artists Collective based in Zurich, Switzerland. He can be reached through this website www.deviprasad.com)