I love splashing paint. But I have no clue about painting "art".
Traditional art rules are a mystery to me. Never understood them.
Yet, I have been a successful full time artist and high-end designer for 35 years.
I am here to inspire and guide you to boldly go for YOUR unconventional magic.
Hello and welcome! I am Monika Astara.
I love all things creative. Always have.
I am delighted that you are here!
Let's create - without traditional rules - and with lots of joy.
Here we splash paint freely, create with joy, make things up as we go along* and mix colors in irreverent ways.
It is the perfect "medicine" to let our inner creatives roar with happiness and delight.
In the process we create fabulous clothes and jewelry that make us feel confident, happy and radiant.
*There are different approaches to creating.
In this Studio I offer and teach you all my unconventional approaches, methods and patterns.
They are playful, simple and give you stunning results.
You can use them in YOUR unconventional ways to create clothes and jewelry that light you up.
"You have no creative bone in your body!
God must have been asleep when He created you!"
That's what my art teacher told me for 6 years.
Yet, I have been a successful full time artist and designer since 1987.
That's why I am passionate about inspiring and guiding you to create as freely and joyfully from your heart as I do.
Create for the pure joy of it.
For however long I can remember, I have been creating things.
And I always loved art. But for the heck of it, I never understood the rules. (Do you?)
My inspiration were the bountiful flower fields, that were my blissful refuge as a shy kid.
As a student, I painted from the heart, combining colors like I saw it in the flower fields.
That was not what my art teacher wanted. She wanted the rules.
So - for 6 years my art teacher kept telling me:
"You have no creative bone in your body! God must have been asleep when He created you!"
There are so many who have similar stories and their natural inner urge to create got stifled.
Or others who learnt rules, are serious about their art and forgot how to create for the joy of it.
Let's have fun - and create for the joy of creating.
That's where magic happens.
Created by digitally layering a photo of flowers and a detail photo of a hand painted top. Creating digital art is like a beautiful, meditative dance with endless and often surprising results.
How I have been creating my whole life - and you can too:
playful, unconventional methods + lots of joy.
Having been told that I wasn't creative, delayed me from a creative path for some years.
But in 1987 I followed my passion: creating happy, fun, artsy clothes that make women feel great about themselves - where they light up from within and radiate it out.
I have been a successful, full time artist and designer ever since.
Over the last 35 years, I have made and sold over 20.000 pieces of fabulous clothing and jewelry.
My wearable art brand Monika Astara sells in galleries, high end wearable art boutiques and is in private collections.
What I teach you has a proven track record for outstanding pieces that women love.
Being true to my nature, I have always come up with my own processes that are pure joy.
- They are faster than traditional methods.
- They are playful, fun and simple.
- You get high-end results with them.
If you are a beginner or an advanced creative who loves "different", you will have a blast with the inspirations and courses (fee and free) offered in the Monika Astara Studio.
If I can do it - so can you!
I love inspiring you to go to your heart and create for the sake of having joy.
When you create in ways that are natural to you, you have deep inner joy and peace.
Whatever you create then, is authentic, raw and full of your light and passion.
Teaching with joy and inspiring you to create in ways that make you happy is in my blood.
Before diving into my designer life, I lived my first passion: teaching.
I taught in higher level German public schools, in Community colleges, on an online art platform and taught everything needed for a GED in a prison - where students had no books. There were no copy machines, no cell phones, no computers.
I kept students happy and engaged with short lessons, taught in a variety of styles.
You get the same in my courses:
individual lessons are joyful, playful and short.
You get instant gratifications at every step.
Splashed and smeared papers, cut into shapes to become jewelry. Simple - pure fun - great looks.
Creating for the fun of it, is the best "therapy".
These days we can sure use more joy in our everyday lives.
Creating with our hands resets the brain into joy and calm - usually faster than meditation.
However, often we mess it all up for ourselves by wanting to create art pieces.
To make it worse, we compare ourselves to artists, who we put on pedestals.
That is so backwards. It totally kills all the fun from the get go.
Here we let loose and create like we did when we were kids, without stifling expectation, just for the joy of creating. That's where magic happens.
If this lights your fire, come create with me.
Here's how we can create together
Private Studio Day(s) with Monika
in person
Spend a magical day with Monika in person at her Studio in Austin, Texas, USA!
If you are a beginner, the "Private Studio Day" sets you up for creating fabulous pieces on your own with confidence and delight.
If you have already taken the Course Program, are an advanced creative, or are a designer, the Private Studio Day fast tracks you on adding exciting new techniques and styles to your repertoire.
Available for individuals and for 2-3 friends at the same time.
It's an exquisite way to celebrate yourself, to celebrate milestones and to have long lasting joy-filled memories with friends or family.
Contact Monika with your name and phone number to set up a chat to see if this in person option fits your desires.
If you would love to create, but think that you are not creative, check out the blog on
me having been told by art teachers for years that "You have no creative bone in your body. God must have been asleep when He created you and your sense of art."
It is your strength and Super Power to not fit into traditional boxes!
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Upcoming posts:
how to wear those shawls that are hiding in your drawers,
how to perk up a T-shirt etc....
