Monika Cilmi BA, MA, PGCE

Monika tutors our Chinese Brush Painting, Beginner’s Drawing, Beginner’s Painting, Coloured Pencils and Drawing with Pens courses.

Monika has a BA (Hons) in Visual arts, a PGCE in art and design, a PG in Asian art, and a MA by project in Fine art with a research on Zen brushwork. She has a great passion for Chinese and Japanese art and creates calligraphy, painting, sculpture, and paper craft. She has worked as an art tutor and workshop leader in various Colleges in London.

Monika lives in Suffolk working as a freelance artist, author, and illustrator and as a tutor and demonstrator. She has worked in collaboration with a small dance company in Mexico creating a visual response to the music and dance using brushwork in a form of video installation that accompany and complement the performance.  

The artwork then becomes part of the choreography and scenography. She has exhibited her work in Italy, England, Germany, Portugal and collaborated with art projects in the US. She has used coloured pencils and pastels extensively and enjoys helping her students develop their skills. Her work has been published in various books and magazines. She has written and illustrated five books: three on origami, one on kirigami and the other on Chinese brushwork. 

Recent Awards and Projects

2009 - "Landfillart" and "hunger bowl" (project - USA )

2010 - Illustration for a "birdbook"
2010 - Competition "world of art", with show at "Urania", Berlin

2011 - One of the Winners for the drawing competition "stroke of genius 4"

2012 - Selected by AOI (Association of Illustrators) for the publication of a work on the Best British Illustration's annual book "Images" 2016 - honorary diploma in fine art from the Berliner Art Prize 2016.
2019 – Selected for the Elmer art trial
2021 - published "Birds and botanicals", for the Mindful Artist Series
2023 - Exhibition project in Athens, Greece, called "Colour in water 8, Autumn transformations"

Visit Monika's website if you would like to browse more of her work, or you can visit her shop.