Monika was born in Germany and came to Canada as a young child where she grew up in Prince Rupert, BC and Hinton, Alberta. She has always been involved with her German Canadian cultural heritage as well as that of her French Canadian family by marriage. Art has come by osmosis.
Monika's art story began in earnest only 5 years ago when she re-entered the painting scene after a 25 year hiatus while earning a living as a travel agency owner. Her art involvement, after attending two years of university art classes in the 70s and numerous workshops plus summer classes at Red Deer College have given her an excellent multi-faceted background. Watercolour and then batik on rice paper has become her passion and is a constantly evolving joy.

She is deeply involved the fine arts as the past President of the Alberta Community Art Clubs Association, Hinton Art Club, Secretary of the Town of Hinton Arts Council and is current Co-Ordinator of Mountain Top Gallery in Hinton. Until recently, she wrote a column in the local newspaper on Arts and Culture and hosted a weekly arts program on ShawTV regionally. In 2003 she was chosen Arts and Culture Volunteer of the Year for the Town of Hinton and was juried into the Alberta Society of Artists.

Monika's work can be found in various art galleries in Alberta: including Hinton (Canuck Gifts,) Jasper (Brushfire Gallery,) Edmonton (Centre d'Arts Visuels), Calgary (Art Gallery and Framing on 17th Avenue S.W.) and Banff (Whyte Museum Art Shop.) Last January her solo show at the Stanley Milner Public Library in Edmonton received great reviews and in May she was involved in an annual group show at CAVA. Her work has been featured in a variety of galleries and public venues throughout Alberta through ACACA. Monika is represented in a gallery in Toronto, ArtSource. Her paintings can be found in private and corporate collections in various parts of the world including USA, Japan, Europe and New Zealand. She displays extensively in businesses and galleries in the tourist area in and around Jasper National Park.

Monika has recently completed shows at Art Gallery and Framing and Catch Restaurant (Hyatt Regency) in Calgary as well as at Prairie Finds at K-Days in Edmonton. Current exhibitions include Mountain Top Gallery and Fiddle River Restaurant in Jasper. At the Alberta-Wide ACACA show last summer, one of Monika's paintings received the prestigious Martha Houston Award for the Advanced level. She displayed two paintings in the recent ASA "In My Backyard" show at Edmonton City Hall. As a member of Night of Artists, Monika is involved in arts festivals and shows in Edmonton and Calgary and has just returned from an Alberta Scene exhibition in Ottawa, Ontario to celebrate Alberta's 100th Anniversary where she completed two of the 336 pieces of the 30 foot high Buffalo Twins Mural.

Check Monika's current and past work on her website at onceinabluemoon.ca and click on the links for other sites where a variety of her artwork is on display.

www.onceinabluemoon.ca/