Jhoanna Monte

Art and Prints

About Me

Thanks for dropping by! I'm Jhoanna and I've been actively creating things since 2006. I've designed and created soft toys and dolls, graphics and illustrations, and 2D artworks. Most of the skills I've learned are self-taught, and I am learning something new with everything I create.

My Story

My focus over the last decade has been and continues to be drawings and paintings. I like to work with pencils, markers, watercolours and acrylics. I used to draw all the time when I was a child and well into high school. Once I started working full-time and started a family, creative endeavours were put aside for many, many years. In 2006, after the birth of my second child, I started following craft blogs and taught myself how to sew. I joined the wonderful craft blog community in Melbourne, Australia, and soon started my own blog called "One Red Robin."

Through One Red Robin I was able to design and make soft toys and dolls, illustrations, art and design patterns for fabric. Between 2006-2012, I was fortunate to have my creations in various exhibitions including 2 solo exhibitions in Melbourne, and was invited to exhibit at the APM mall in Hong Kong; have some of my sewing patterns published in various craft magazines; had my own range of softie sewing patterns with Pattern Press; have my creations featured in newspapers and websites; and had an opportunity to work with Australian fashion labels, Gorman and Sportsgirl. In 2011, we moved to Hong Kong. Since I was not able to bring my huge fabric stash and sewing machine to our new home, I switched my focus to illustrations and then painting, and continue to paint today (whenever I can fit it around motherhood and a full-time corporate job!).

I love to play with colour when I paint and enjoy making painterly markings, so that there is no mistake that my artworks are painted, and not a photo or digitally created. This sometimes leaves the artwork a little unfinished-looking and messy, which makes me happy 🙂 I like to paint landscapes, still life, portraits, figurative paintings and abstract. In all of these, I hope to bring the viewer into the painting, to experience a fleeting, yet common human feeling or observation - a comforting relatability to remind us that we're not alone in our experiences. Although Impressionism, Expressionism and Fauvism are my primary influences, after completing a Master of Art History in 2020 I realised that there are so many other kinds and styles of art that inspire me and for which I hope to continue studying.

Below you'll find some highlights from my creative journey so far.

Design (Sewing Projects)

Handmade Magazine, Volume 25 Number 1. Pattern and Instructions for Cheery Chimp
Handmade Magazine, Volume 25 Number 3. Pattern and Instructions for Owl Pillow
Homespun Magazine, 9.4. Pattern and Instructions for Little Miss Mushroom
Handmade Magazine, Volume 25 Number 10. Pattern and Instructions for Babushka Soft Doll
Handmade Magazine, Volume 25 Number 11. Pattern and Instructions for Mini Crayon Belts
Get Creative Magazine, August 2008. Pattern and Instructions for Lamb Lovey
Handmade Magazine, Volume 25 Number 12. Pattern and Instructions for Springbean the Bear
Homespun Magazine, Volume 9 Number 10. Pattern and Instructions for Octavious the Owl
Handmade Magazine, Volume 26 Number 3. Pattern and Instructions for Bunnito the Pirate-ito
"Meet Me At Mikes" the book, published by Hardie Grant (2009). Pattern and Instructions for Zing the Polite Cat
Sew Hip magazine, Issue 6. Pattern and Instructions for Myrtle the Turtle
Handmade Magazine, Volume 26 Number 12. Pattern and Instructions for Patience
"One Yard Wonders: 101 Sewing Projects", published by Storey Publishing (2009). Pattern and Instructions for Peg Bear
"Craft Hope: Handmade Crafts for a Cause", published by Lark Crafts (2010). Pattern and Instructions for Ruby dolls; patchwork scarves for adults and kids; sock monkeys.
Homespun Magazine, Volume 12 Number 3. Pattern and Instructions for Norm the Garden Gnome
"Hand in Hand: Crafting with Kids", published by Lark Crafts (2012). Pattern and Instructions for Owl Cushion.

Design (Illustrations)

Gorman Shop. My illustration appeared on the Gorman shop front page for two weeks in March 2012 and also on their invitations for their first store in New Zealand
KleinFORMAT Magazine (Summer 2012). Designed a paper doll for the magazine.

Exhibitions (Solo and Group)

Morphe II Soft-toy Exhibition (Adelaide, SA, Australia). Soft Toys Shiloh, Shakespeare & Shiva were on display. Morphe II hosted by Nest Studio, October 2006
Art Stuff-ed Plush Show (Greenville, NC, USA). Soft Toys Oberon, Othello, Seahorse #4 and Shazaam were on display at the 1st annual Art Stuff-ed Plush Show hosted by the Petti-coat Pirate, December 2006.
The “Plush, Vinyl, Clay” Show (Troy, NY, USA). Soft Toys Winston, Jasper and Lottie were on display hosted by the Kismet Gallery, from November 30 2007 - January 25 2008
World's Largest Plush Show - Crammed Organisms: Folk, Fairy, Fable (St. Louis, MI, USA) Soft Toys on display June 6 - July 27 2008
Woodland Park Folk: A collection of Soft Toys and Artwork by Jhoanna Monte/One Red Robin. On display September 1-30, 2008, at Hudson Clothes 229 Carlisle Street, Balaclava, Victoria (AUS). My first solo show!
Super Plush (Los Angeles, California, USA). Hosted by Ghetto Gloss Gallery. Soft Toys on display from September 25-October2, 2008
Plush It (Newtown, NSW, AUS). Hosted by Ruban Rat Designer Store & Gallery. Soft Toys on display November 12th, 2008
Soft Toys by Jhoanna Monte (Kwun Tong, Hong Kong). Solo exhibition and woodland doll-head brooch workshops held at the APM Millennium City mall, 15th-19th December, 2008.
Woodland Folk: Spring Tea Party: A collection of Soft Toys and Artwork by Jhoanna Monte/One Red Robin. On display November 16 - December 31, 2009 at Hudson Clothes 229 Carlisle Street, Balaclava, Victoria (AUS). My second solo show at Hudson! 🙂
One Red Robin Fawn @ Sportsgirl (January - March 2010): A collaboration with Sportsgirl and Gloss Creative for their summer campaign. The almost-4-metre tall fawn was designed by me and made into an inflatable piece for the Sportsgirl flagship store at Chadstone Shopping Centre, Melbourne (AUS)
2024 Fifty Squared Art Prize exhibition (Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne). My artwork "The Ladies" was exhibited 22 June - 5 July 2024.
2024 Hue and Cry Art Exhibition (Liminal Gallery, Geelong). My artworks "Truth and Consequences", "Alone in Density", and "The Ladies" were exhibited 31 August - 21 September 2024.

Featured

Below are a few of the media that has featured my work. I was also featured/interviewed on various blogs/websites, most of which no longer exist at this time.

The Age Newspaper (Melbourne, AUS): "I Made It Myself" column (21 April 2007). A column about my handmade work
The Age Newspaper (Melbourne, AUS): "Back to the future" (22 April 2007). I was included in an article on handmade makers
The Herald Sun Newspaper (Melbourne, AUS): "Toy Story" (25 August 2007). An article on my handmade soft toys
The Sunday Age Newspaper (Melbourne, AUS) - M Magazine cover (20 April 2008). My handmade bunny made the cover of the magazine.
Homespun Magazine: "In Profile" (9.4. April 2008)
Get Creative Magazine: "Artist Profile" (August 2008)
Stuffed Magazine (Volume 1 Winter 2009). My handmade soft toys were featured
Peppermint Magazine: Made with Love (The World of DIY) (Winter 2009). I was interviewed for contribution to this article on handmade
"Craft Corps: the book" (2010). Featured in this book about independent creatives
KleinFORMAT Magazine (Summer 2012). Featured illustrator in this German magazine about design for kids.
Visual Art Journal (Issue 5, August 2024). My artworks "The Creative Block", "Alone in Density", and "A Late Lunch in the Sun" were all included.

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