Featured Artist Monika Roglic

Artist Monika Roglic presents a collection of hand painted silk dresses, scarves and shawls. Enjoy her wearable art, and visit her website to see more.

 

 

I was born in Frankfurt, Germany to Croatian parents and was bilingual as a child. At the age of seven, my family moved to to Zagreb, Croatia. In addition to regular elementary school, I attended a music school for piano. I also started to paint and won an award in third grade for one of my paintings.

 

 

After finishing high school and attended a teaching college in Zagreb, I worked for ten years in preschools and kindergartens. This allowed me to implement my background in art and music. I also used my knowledge of German to lead a bilingual experimental school for children.

 

 

While working at a preschool, I met my husband. We had a daughter, and in 1999 moved to Boston, Massachusetts. I studied English as a second language, which was very hard in the beginning. But being bilingual as a child helped me learn English in just three months.

 

 

While living in Boston, I attended Salem State College. There I majored in psychology and graduated with honors. I also published poetry and was active in the New England Writers’ Society.

 

 

The brutal northeast winters reinforced my need to create what I was missing the most from Zagreb—the color. The deep blue, calm Adriatic Sea, the warm intimate red roofs of Dalmatian villages and the liveliness of the city of Zagreb and its people all inspired me. They sparked a deep nostalgia for the land I left behind.

 

 

In 2005 I transitioned to become a full-time painter and began exhibiting my work. As an artist, I have found my true identity and a deep sense of belonging by encapsulating feelings, fond memories, living colors, and a multitude of stories in my work.

 

 

I started to translate the paintings I did on canvas onto silk, which is a much softer and subtler medium—kind of like emotions. I felt I was transitioning the metaphorical embrace of warmth and color into a literal one.

 

 

Shawls, dresses and more—these became my wearable pieces of art. For example, a silk shawl painted with specific colors became a warm Dalmatian hug which I relished.

 

 

I’ve since moved to Austin, Texas. Guided by a longing for more familiar landscapes where I can recreate memory and imagination through color, I refer to this as my inscape. I cherish the warm weather, enjoy the scents of fresh lavender and rosemary, and the sight of cypress trees. All of these help me to embrace the feeling of home, and I feel lucky to live in Austin.

 

 

My silk art pieces are made of 100% fine silk, uniquely hand painted and signed. My work has been exhibited by the Heritage Foundation of Croatia in Zagreb. I’ve had artist shows in both Boston, Massachusetts, and Nashua, Nashua, New Hampshire.

 

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