Monicka Clio Sakki, a creative entrepreneur, came into the Web3/NFT space with a reawakening of a forgotten promise to have another kind of experience with an artist identity. All of the work in her artistic journey had led her to this new appreciation of how everything informs one’s self-expression of identity and personal power.
She heard about NFTs in December 2021 and went down the rabbit hole and consumed content for about three months. In February 2022, she joined Twitter and became immersed in the NFT ecosystem.
Her first NFT was for an Amplify Women competition/collection.
As a child, she wanted to be an architect and started a never-ending fascination with Legos. She would make tall buildings out of Legos. When her children were small, she taught them to play with them as well. Those tall buildings morphed into tall women sculptures, her Goddesses — what she calls emerging art.
Before getting into NFTs, Monicka had a set of sculptures standing on her desk. One day her lawyer asked about them and wanted to know why she was creating NFTs with her goddesses. She began taking them with her to the beach on Saturdays, and waiting for the “drama” to happen. Meaning they might fall into the sand or fall apart, and then she would photograph the drama. There is always an element of play in her work.
Her inspiration is drawn from an inner drive to create. She likes to follow a creative thread, an interchangeable process, and then create separate works that emerge from a distinctive theme. Creating wholeness out of separation speaks to her experience during her childhood.
When I asked about her process, she talked about how she has been producing art assets for 20 years. Much like generative art, she puts these assets into an area and plays with them until she gets surprised by the outcome. She then photographs it and turns it into the finished image that accompanies each NFT.
She said she is influenced/inspired by Erin McGean on Instagram at @lifewithart. The strongest influence on her work is herself.
Her favorite artist is David Hockney.
Her favorite color is Viva Magenta, the new Pantone color of the year for 2023.
She thinks of herself more as a founder than a 1-of-1 artist. But the changes in the NFT ecosystem and the current bear market changed her trajectory. NFTs are a side hustle for her. She is not a degen and doesn’t own much crypto. She mostly has some ETH, but she is holding onto that to mint her Goddesses project.
When I asked what she is working on, she talked about combining her non-NFT work with NFTs. She has a tarot deck that she has created and is selling to both non-Web3 folks and the NFT community. This makes for a lot of work, but it is also onboarding people into Web3. She is minting a generative project called Mint the Magician in addition to her Goddesses project, which she is still working on.
The message she wants people to get from her work is to be inspired by your spirit, have positive vibes and be playful.
Listen to the full podcast here!
Follow her on Twitter here!