Monica To

Born and raised in the Edmonton area, TO came to Vermilion in 2004 to teach art to teens and has resided there since. she arrived armed with a love for art, working with children, her Art Minor and a Bachelor of Education degree. Her formal art training comes from the University of Alberta and Red Deer College, and is deeply influenced by two mentors and fellow Alberta artists - Sandra Miller, and the late Lawrence Kenakin. To's artistic endeavors are drawn out in the classroom, workshops, in commission work, and art shows and exhibitions. Her body of art is a variety of charcoal, pencil, paint, and printmaking, revelaing her Jack-of-All-Paints experimental spirit. Monica's collection of work also captures subjects and styles of all sort - nature, nudes, people, pets, cartoons, abstract, photorealism; her refusal to commit to one topic or style makes it entertaining to try and pinpoint amongst others which pieces are hers.

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Aside from art, To adds color to her life with her husband and son by searching for the balance between mindful and fast-paced living, dining at mom-and-pop restaurants, fishing, seeing and smelling the Rocky Mountains, woodworking, living out of a suitcase, snowboarding, kittens, trying to convince people that she's a grownup, fantasizing about race-car driving, laughing once a day until she cries, and being around her favorite people.