Mona M Shiber

Transformational Artist

from a recent solo show: Mona Shiber’s work draws from a wellspring of dream imagery. Like “following a friend through a thicket of trees at dusk”, she culls through her own life with curiosity and insight to gather filaments from the Unconscious. Pursuing every strand through her own art-making practice, using a language strewn with archetype and symbol, and any and all matter or materials, she untangles and reweaves each thread into earthly substance for us. To an inquisitive interpreter, ‘Following the Dream Thread’ is a collection of visual offerings; from emerging lotuses and reliquary containers to votives likened to milagros, or tamatas. Yet, beyond their historical forms, Shiber’s work asks, “As both mundane and venerated images reoccur again and again in the waking dream, what do they whisper in the inner ear? If this were a dream, what would it mean?” The inquiry unfolds, by following the dream thread…

M. Shiber studied architecture, before choosing to focus on ceramic sculpture, drawing & installation while earning her a BFA from Tulane Univ. & an MFA from Washington Univ. Her means of creative expression have spanned beyond these, to include stone carving, fiber arts, up-cycled objects & wearables, community projects and vocal harmonies. Transformation is her middle name, whether the metamorphose is outer objects or inner reflective development, this is an undercurrent in her work as a living contemporary artist. As part of her repertoire, she has conducted art & transformation workshops to various communities like: the Wellness Center of TN, -place for cancer patients and their support team-, yoga centers, private women’s groups, re-skilling programs for community building in both urban & rural settings across the US & inner city teen programs in New Orleans, LA and St. Louis, MO. She continues to teach art & creativity where ever she finds herself, & she is always discovering anew.

Throughout Shiber’s career her artwork has been honored with recognition. Shiber’s commissioned public art installations are part of the permanent collections of the city of Knoxville & at the Tennessee Valley Authority. Her works have been published in Advances in Body-Mind Medicine by Advances Journal, 500 Tiles: An Inspiring Collection of International Work & 500 Raku: Bold Explorations of a Dynamic Ceramics Technique by Lark Publications, graphic support in, Sun, Wind, & Light, 2nd edition by Brown & DeKay, published by Wiley. M. Some of Shiber residencies include, teaching teens at both the famed NOCCA (New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts) & the Community Center for the Arts in downtown Knoxville, TN, and stone carving at the old Candora Marble Company. Through invitation, she taught college-level art & interdisciplinary courses at art & architecture institutes throughout the US & was invited as visiting lecturer at the National Institute of Design in Gujarat, India.