General statements

Free text written by Monika Thoms

I am simply naturally inspired by being consiously alive in my body, my feelings and my mind!

All my life I rescued my living being in the identity of me as an artist. There has never been another choice for me. I tend to say, my inner artist is the last part of me to die. So I keep working out what seems to me an important contribution to the situation I am witnessing. How to bring more conciousness to a certain situation by choosing art in a specific way and in a way, that makes a difference to people and their way of looking or treating things so far.

Being an artist means to be extremely flexible and alert. And precise and concentrated, accurate and yentle, open and full of courage to touch the heart of life.

I try to stay innocent and my attitude is being intuitive, curious and compassionate at the same time.

I always like to be invited to work in empty spaces to be filled with international artists activity.

I am a watcher. I am a visionary artist. If it seems adaquate I go for action. While I could work all day and all night inspired by what is in the focus of my heart, becoming older, I seem to be more aware of the fact, that a good rest is important before I start a biggger piece of art. For example my altarpiece „Prayer of the mother for her son“ in 2011. For having a good start I often choose a longer period of solitude, filled with prayers and silence as preparation or night time to feel uninterruppted for at least 5 hours or more in one working session or for three months witout break.

I think nature and beauty and joy interests and inspires me most. This may express in the preparation of a simple vegan meal, inventing a new taste, making a drawing of a face, a flower or thinking of presenting a melody or a feeling of a landscape made plain air in a natural surrounding on canvas with oil paint.

So it is not any specific theme or subject, more the way I am alive, that makes me working spontanous on an expression of what is there to be shared. To be a common human being among others with all my skills ready to serve is my ideal picture of an artist nowadays as ever. To do what is needed every day.

Luxery of being an artist

Being just on my own in my atelier, for example painting a portrait – it needs concentration and mainly I am fishing for this calm mood and undisturbed situation to start… I nourish my eyes by walking in nature, and dreaming of my inner state of calm, connected abiding as if the piece of art is complete in my inner dream, I speedily manifest it in a rush and full of energy in a very short time. I consider my work ok, if tears come in recognition and joy.

Still almost always I am not knowing what is going to happen. I keep this attitude of not knowing and watching as best as I can. Gentleness is always there for widening my view to the far horizon. I keep watching out for the biggest surprizes to roll in front of my feet. I fell I a a mysric type of beingwaiting for the gifts of the universe you cannot think of, to arrive in time! Glass hot shops taught me this. Being in an artistic team full of heat, speed, concentration and miracles of sychronisity. As Jung defines it as an „acausal connecting (togetherness) principle;“ and as a „meaningful coincidence. Art emerges out of this experience.

My natural creativity is extremly fluent. You can ask me anything, I would explode having so many differnt ideas and approaches. Mainly this is overwhelming to cope with – even for myself.

In these days of lockdown number two I feel damaged in my way I usually mix with people in a very spontanous and touching way. Especially the first cranio for newborns – my favourite material after all explorations I could make as an artist with my sensitive hands.- seems to be lost in all dictated fomulars of keeping distance. This keeps me like under a cover like a firy vulkany activity while finding myelf in the role of the tearwiping wise woman. Bodywork is needed most these days and songs as affirmations to go on! So this is also a art of my artwork you can find or read of on my growing website.

I submitted three pieces of glass and was chosen. Indeed these objects are unique and full of inventions. Thank you for responding to this flushing beauty!

Creating a form idea for the material glass is so exciting and has to be so exatct at the same time. My skill of looking carefully at all details during the whole process of hot shop glass forming and keeping the connection to the working team as well as to the specific philosophy of the art piece I want to be born communicated by my technical drawings from three perspectives – is the real adventure! I would love to explore more of this in Murano, where there is still so kuch going on, all kind of glass work is possible! In Germany all is gone. How to prevent this in Murano?

My way of acting and thinking is very fast and looks determined. Though mainly I try not to be overactive and keep my energy by just being calm and alert, while doing as less as possible and if siutable absolute spontaneous as it simply has to happen in this way not in any other, without any fear of loosing control. Also risking to do nothing at all!

These abilities I trained over 20 years looking at the art of touch in tousands of sessions of bodywork I could give.

Acting out in a performance needs this kind of determination, as if I would prepare a … brith or … a death. All things have to be prepared for an unique moment of outburst of energy.

So I try to fix my activity, bind or channel it to certain tasks, mainly always I work at five things at the same time. Mixing into life around me. This makes me content and suits my speed and intensity and wish to go deep.

I even prepare for going online with my little own galery called wunschlos glücklich, what means wishless happy, though I still live without mobile, I feel I want to support all regional mainly oldfashioned artists to find new views in the digital world and even inventing new ways of presenting and mixing art into everyday survival world. I believe, creativity is the solution for all our problems!

Now mainly I am lacking the audience and situations to show my most recent artworks. It is a struggle not to give up. For performance and groupprocesses it is not the best time …

I keep my weekly events going in my own galery in the small town of Salzwedel in the former eastern part of Germany. Still loosing people in our region because of he lack of infrastructure –

on the other hand we live in the mids of breathtaking nature. This I am choosing for the next period for dealing with trees and landart as well as performance in nature being filmed and documented in all years´seasons.

Venice is such an amazing spot for artists. I could stay there for the rest of my art life! Glass culture to be rescued into the future times, seaside with rising waterlevel asking for sustainable ways of lifestyle, old architecture to explore for international mixed artisic interactions….

I am lucky to have set my foot there shortly before the pandemic period started. It feels like my first italian life performance on the 13th of february 2020 was an intuitive existencial outcry as a warning to watch out what we have to face alltogether.