The historic village of Merrickville, Ontario, remains a fantastic place to meet and invariably greet artists of different media. Every summer, I typically travel the hour-long route from Ottawa/Gatineau to view some favourite galleries. This is a feast for the eyes trip. Next year, I would like to visit studios that participate in the Artists Tour at the end of September. For over 30 years the Merrickville Artists’ Guild Autumn Studio Tour provides thousands of art lovers a peek into the creative worlds of artists in and around Merrickville.

© 2018 Louise Levergneux, Monsky Creations Art Gallery

During our stay, serendipitously through a valuable introduction by my husband, I visited the Monsky Creations Art Gallery which exclusively features the work of multi-disciplined artist Monica Viola. Monica works in clay, glass, painting, and fabric; one-of-a-kind art that is beautiful and intriguing. The mention of glass work and I’m there!

Over the last few years, Monica has become an international artist whose unique and highly collectable works can be found all over the world.

© 2018 Louise Levergneux, Floating Butterflies, fused glass by Monica Viola

© 2018 Gary Viola, Twiga, fused glass by Monica Viola

© 2018 Gary Viola, ceramic by Monica Viola

© 2018 Gary Viola, fused glass (20” x 7” x 1.5”) by Monica Viola

© 2018 Gary Viola, fused glass platter (20” x 7” x 1.5”) by Monica Viola

© 2018 Gary Viola, ceramic serving platter by Monica Viola

© 2018 Gary Viola, Gazelle Platter, clay (4” x 21” x 6”) by Monica Viola

© 2018 Gary Viola, clay, Windtalker by Monica Viola