Let's hear from Monika - continued

But when my art teacher insisted for years that I wasn't creative, it did affect me. It delayed my artistic life until I was in my thirties.

In hindsight she also did me a tremendous favor by preventing me from applying for art college. I never learnt restrictive rules. I can experiment and explore freely and with abandon.

However, despite having been very successful in my life as a full time artist and wearable art designer since 1987, I never believed that I was creative - until recent years.

That's when I realized that it is totally natural to me to always come up with innovative ways to create that produce high-end results. Because it is so easy and natural, I always thought any kid can do this. 

So I never really valued my unconventional, happy creativity. And kept believing that I wasn't creative - compared to all those "real" artists who I admired.
 
It is the same for so many of us who believe that they are not creative.
They simply do not fit into molds of "standard" creativity, compare themselves to artists who they admire and have certain ideas about what it means to be creative.

When I hear others talk about "not being creative", it still boils my blood.
There are so many who deprive themselves of the priceless joy, the natural happiness and inner calm that comes from creating with the hands.  

Therefore I am passionate about inspiring and guiding you to let your inner designer and creative roar with joy. 

For some that is the gentle roar of a lioness resting in the mild afternoon sun, letting out deeply satisfied roars.

For others it's like a lion pub jumping up and down with delight when they taste the fun of creating freely with simple, unconventional methods.  
And all the stages in between.

I invite you to come into this Studio.
Create with me and experience the delicious joy that making something with your hands gives you - and keeps on giving for however long you create."

"Professional" bio

 Since 1987 Monika has been the creative force behind the transformational clothing and jewelry brand Monika Astara.

Monika has worked with thousands of women 1:1, in groups, at trunk shows, at workshops and at her boutique at the Hot Springs Resort in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, to love themselves the way they are right NOW - so they can live their lives fully with their natural inner joy and passion.

Women called Monika's boutique "the transformation place where you fall in love with yourself".

For many, many women it was the first time in their lives that they felt beautiful.
And it wasn't about the clothes or jewelry!
It was because Monika showed them how to choose and wear colors, shapes and textures that LIGHT them UP from the inside.

In 2021 she created the online Monika Astara Studio as a means for people to find inner joy and calm through engaging creatively with their hands. So that, in the midst of an increasingly disruptive outer world, they can stay balanced, happy and strong from the inside.


In her early years Monika earned the equivalent of a Masters in Home Sciences and a Masters in Education, as well as a BA in English and a BA in psychology in Germany.  

As her first job out of college, Monika taught everything needed for the equivalent of a GED in a prison in Germany. Inmates had no books. There were no computers, no cell phones, not even copy machines.
She had to be creative to keep students engaged and graduating.  

She went on to teach grades 7-10 in public schools.  
For the fun of it, she also taught evening cooking and baking courses for men in a community college.

After moving to the USA she taught German at a community college before embarking on her life's mission to make women feel great about themselves - by providing them with comfortable, fun clothes that are easy to care of and make women light up from inside.

When women feel happy from inside, that affects everyone in their environment. Thus making the world a happier place - one woman at a time.

In recent years Monika also taught on someone else's online art platform.  

After starting her own online Studio in 2021, Monika's first Signature Course "Hand painted Art Tops, Happiness and Joy" has been receiving rave reviews from her clients.

Since then, her clients comment that they haven't had this much joy and happiness as in her courses.  And that they haven't seen the methods and patterns anywhere else. They love that all methods and patterns are truly simple and fun - and give them great joy and happiness.

Monika's vision is to create a movement of spreading joy around the world through creativity.