Article by Laura Nixon
Monika Smith has been a Board member for quite a few years, managing the membership portfolio for most of it. She’s the friendly Board member who tries to answer your membership questions as quickly as possible, as well as coordinating the database with events that you can register for. She would love to have the whole community on her email list, especially now that the hall is finished, and a lot of fun events and programs are in the works.
Monika has lived in Glendale Meadows since the mid-1980s and has seen a lot of changes. Sarcee Trail was a sleepy highway for quick access to the mountains, and the hills to the west were basically green fields. In those days, she worked as a communications specialist and focussed on visual communications for marketing and identity programs. However, she missed being an artist, and enrolled in the then Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD) to get her degree in ceramics. She opened her own studio, The Visions West Studio, working with every kind of clay and making anything from functional tableware to sculptures! She is looking forward to expanding her sales, offering classes in her studio, and coordinating a handmade craft sale at the hall.
Monika also led the creation of a mural, comprised of photo tiles of Glendale’s history provided by many residents, for Glendale’s 60th anniversary. Stay tuned for its reinstallation at the hall!
Of course, Monika’s great interests in native plants are featured in the Monika’s Grove articles, and she is looking forward to projects that naturalize and beautify the hall’s yard. She loves to chat and with gardeners of all experiences and interests and is currently enrolled in the Calgary Horticultural Society’s Master Gardener program to learn more and help residents garden successfully.
Monika with her Red Circus ceramic sculpture.
Click here to the Glendale Community News home page for the latest Glendale community updates.
