Monica DiGiovanni (she /they)
BFA: Studio for Interrelated Media 1999, CYT 200
The current exploration of my work investigates themes of; birth, death and rebirth, strength and vulnerability, impermanence and interconnectedness, nature, resiliency, chaos, Zen meditation, the study of Buddhist cosmology as it relates to the human condition, my spiritual practice as a yoga and meditation teacher, and consciousness itself. Yoga gives people a chance to meet themselves in their most vulnerable moments and to see outside of their own struggles enough to find connection. As we have collectively witnessed throughout the pandemic, isolation is one of the greatest ills of our time. Interconnectedness and peace are reliant on each of us seeing our individuality as part of the whole. Having gathered tools to dive beneath the layers of familial and societal conditioning so that the possibility for personal fulfillment is more accessible, my 30+ year relationship with yoga and meditation is also woven into my creative expression along with oil paint, ink, and watercolor. Regardless of the mode of expression, the ability to articulate complex and abstract human experience through the unfurling of my creative process is an extension of my way of being in the world.
Bio
Monica DiGiovanni studied painting and drawing at the Pacific Northwest College of art before transferring to the Massachusetts College of Art. There she graduated in 1999 with a BFA in the Studio for Interrelated Media with a focus on creative movement and the human body as medium as well a variety of other multi-media disciplines and public art. Between 2012-2013 she spent four months in residency at Welcome Hill Studios in West Chester, NH taking the time to reconnect with and unleash her creative spirit from many years of dormancy. In 2021 she received a fellowship to participate in the Creative Imperative online residency through the Vermont Studio Center. She had been selected to participate in VSC’s Vermonter’s Week Residency in 2020 which sadly didn’t happen because of the pandemic. Currently she is a co-owner of The Front cooperative gallery in Montpelier. She currently lives and works out of her apartment studio in Montpelier, VT. In addition to being an artist and Zen practitioner she loves her role as a yoga and meditation teacher. For more information on her classes, visit www.montpelieryoga.com.
Mentions in the news
Times Argus "Can Art Be Sweet?"
Times Argus "Sheltering in Place: Vermont's Artists Respond Personally"
Interview for All Things LGBTQ public access TV show (interview starts around minute 38)
Times Argus "Sheltering in Place: Vermont's Artists Respond Personally"
Interview for All Things LGBTQ public access TV show (interview starts around minute 38)