Today we’d like to introduce you to Monika (Moni) Bell.
Monika, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As a kid, I was lucky enough to travel, since my dad was Air Force. We lived in Germany and Japan when I was young, so I was surrounded by people from all over the world and all over the states on base. I loved it. Everyone and everything had its own flavor! When we came to Texas, I really liked it at first. My grandma lived on a farm near Austin with horses, cattle, giant spiders and big dogs running around. Then, we moved up to a suburb near Dallas and it felt really alien, mostly because it was a lot of the same everywhere I looked. Nothing seemed as beautiful as remembered! I grew up with nostalgia for natural beauty, delicious new smells and craved varying perspectives. I put a lot of these original longings into my work, along with some new ones I’ve collected here in Dallas. Although I have always felt strange and out of place, I’ve learned to channel it! I act, make art, write music and poetry and am working on a script.
Experiencing humanity through others’ creative work is exhilarating and humbling. Through creative expression, we make a rich life, regardless of where we are. That’s one lesson I’ve learned growing up with my “ wish I were somewhere else” thing. Along with my personal creative pursuits, I sing with the Stoners, am an art guide at the Dallas Young Makers Club, am a mother, and work as Board President of WordSpace, a literary non-profit here in Dallas. I’ve accumulated a schedule of things I love doing and I think that’s the goal.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I feel fortunate that it has been a wonderful life full of many opportunities, but it can take time learning to seize them with grace. I am so enamored by the people I am surrounded by. Learning that who you spend your time with and how motivational they are to you matters. As a young teen, I had a drug problem and my self-esteem and ability to feel strong happiness after that has been a struggle. It can be pretty hard to crawl out dark places with internal monologues of “You’re not disciplined, not smart enough, not old/young enough, not rich enough, not experienced enough, etc.” running through your head. Making art, playing music, singing and writing saves me every day. Being a mother to my five-year-old son and two step-daughters has been very rewarding but challenging. I finished up my Associates Degree right after I had my son and haven’t been able to go back to school. I wanted to have an MFA but financial pressures and time management has been an issue so far. That change of plans was difficult for me to face, but I’m doing so many things I adore anyways! The greatest advice I would give to young women (and all young people) is to be kind to themselves and others, learn to balance needs and wants, honor their craft with discipline, and choose wisely when to say “yes” and when to say “no!”
We’d love to hear more about WordSpace, Dallas Young Makers Club.
I am a multidisciplinary artist. My most recent exhibition, “Release in Shadow” was made by marbling ink in my bathtub on large sheets of paper, then drawing in charcoal on top of them, finding hidden pictures and enhancing the mysteries within. I often make my work from recycled and repurposed materials, paint and always incorporate some performative element in my art openings. I often use drawing and painting, but enjoy more spatial work as well, like making giant paper and aluminum can beads, chicken wire or found object sculpture.
I am an Art Guide at the Dallas Young Makers’ Club where I teach lessons on what I know and let the kids take it where they want to go. We host four-hour work days each 2nd and 4th Saturday and the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library from 10:30 AM-2:30 PM. There are two other tracks that the 8-18-year-olds can join: Lego Robotics or Computer Programming, which my husband Max Bell runs on raspberry pi computers. We stock with snacks and parents are allowed to wander the amazing library, while their kids have a blast with their peers. We feel children are constantly rushed to learn something and we provide a place to learn naturally, through discovery in an inspiring environment.
My band, the Stoners, is Oak Cliff’s finest Rolling Stones Cover band. I met Tom Battles (guitarist) when I was living in the X+ district of OC. We always talked about jamming but finally did a one-off at one of my art openings, along with Jonathan Marcus (bass) and Sebastian Gutierrez (drums). I joined for good because I loved it so much. It’s all fun. Any chance for me to sing for hours and I’m in. We make each other laugh and aren’t afraid to say how we feel about something. Honesty is important in friendships. Learning the Stone’s songs, who have such a large discography, is a fun challenge for me as a singer. We do about 30 songs in a gig, and anyone who knows me knows my memory isn’t the greatest. It keeps me sharp!
My own music is not extremely rock and roll. I enjoy writing very dark, emotional songs with dramatic changes. I have performed them for the last ten years and continue to write more. I hope to form this catalog into a Musical Tragedy for the stage. My first band was Hope in the Other. I played guitar and sang with Lindsey Smith Kincade (vocals, bass), Haley Salazar (mandolin, banjo) and Ian Kincade (drums). We started by playing covers and then mixing in our own work. After Ian and Lindsey left for the great state of Colorado, Haley, her husband Ruben (stand-up bass) and I formed the Mad Mother Goblin project, where we performed our songs as well as some of my spoken word.
Writing has always been a passion of mine. I’ve been editing friends’ papers for years and was always schooled on my own work by Haley and Lindsey who majored in Literature and Technical Writing respectively. My composition class at El Centro College with Bob Chambers changed the way I thought about poetry and writing. I have an amazing mentor, Karen X Minzer, who has been encouraging me to write and take care of my body with yoga. My poetry and performances are built of work on love, pain, nature, and nostalgia. I’m known for my ability to shift voice with large emotional range. I have a body of work that I’m in the process of editing into a book.
As far as acting goes, I recently worked with Thomas Riccio’s Dead White Zombies in “Holy Bone”, collaborating with Karen on a musical performative poetry piece, “Got Ojas?” which was part of the journey (https://vimeo.com/242281664). I also had the great pleasure of making a video with Aaron Gonzalez, Adam Amparan and Kate Fisher for her and Adam’s band, Adam and the Figurines, for her song, Higher (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V6NRqZv5yE).
Karen introduced me to WordSpace when we were neighbors on the X + block. I helped my boyfriend-at-the-time with his print shop, Incense, and Peppermints (now Print Peppermint) and curated the gallery space we had there. Karen, who was program director for WS came in for some printing and web work. I always loved the brilliant readings I’d hear at her place! She’s always turning me on to writers I’ve not heard of! She is a true Underground Queen of Word and in 2017, I became a board member because of her encouragement. This year I am board president.
WordSpace was started by Dallas Poet Robert Trammell in 1994 and has a long history of providing space for local talent of the imaginative word. His goal was to provide public exposure for North Texas writers and to see that they got paid for their participation. From inception, WordSpace has produced programming celebrating the diversity of the local literary community, championing those voices that explore creative language in both traditional and experimental forms. Since Robert Trammell’s passing in 2006, WordSpace has continued to honor his vision by expanding support for local writers and their interactive opportunities with national figures. We partner with Dallas Cultural Centers, arts groups, local galleries, bookstores, and theaters. WordSpace has presented nationally prominent writers such as Laurie Anderson, Saul Williams, Tim Z. Hernandez, and John Waters. We are sponsored by the Moody Fund for the Arts, Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs, Ben E. Keith, the Latino Cultural Center, and the South Dallas Cultural Center.
This Spring, we have more great programming on the way, such as Duriel Harris and Roger Reeves at the South Dallas Cultural Center and Rosemary Catacalos at the Latino Cultural Center. Nicole Schlesinger’s Oral Fixation will be in its 7th season and we have many wonderful shows happening at Mighty Fine Arts Gallery and will be making WordSpace all over the city for Dallas Lit Hop in April with Anne Waldman headlining. I will also be performing! Won’t you come too?
We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
My first job was at a Baskin Robbins. The owner/manager was a woman. I started my adult working life in the hairdressing industry and was surrounded by amazing women and lgbtq+ killing the game. I don’t see why any industry shouldn’t be the same. My husband was an astronomy major and works in IT now. He has been really instrumental in smashing stereotypes of those industries in my and my daughters’ eyes. So many amazing feats in these sciences came to be because of brave, brilliant women, although their impact may have been previously downplayed. I’m glad to see some media, and pop culture taking hold and making sure everyone is heard, appreciated and protected. The barriers I honestly believe to be the most damaging is lack of equal pay for equal work and people not taking each other seriously. It shouldn’t matter; your background, physical ability, racial identity or gender identity. It can be degrading, feeling like someone else is getting paid for the same work you bust your ass for. It feeds those horrible monologues I spoke of earlier, which stifle creativity. I feel that everyone can do what they put their mind to. We all need the chance to prove ourselves, while able to support ourselves financially.
Contact Info:
- Website: monivisual.com, wordspacedallas.com, DallasYoungMakers.org
- Phone: WordSpace: 214-838-3554
- Email: bowmonika@gmail.com, wordspace@wordspace.us
- Instagram: @madmothergoblin, @wordspacedallas, @the_stoners_dallas , @dallasyoungmakers
- Facebook: THE STONERS: https://www.facebook.com/thestonersdallas , WORDSPACE: https://www.facebook.com/WordSpaceTexas , DALLAS YOUNG MAKERS: https://www.facebook.com/DallasYoungMakersClub/
- Twitter: @wordspacedallas
Image Credit:
Kira Bell, Steve Cruz, Rosie Lindsey Photography, Max Bell
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