How to Live in the Moment and Let Your Creativity Flow Freely| Montserrat Serra Nonell

Montserrat, a Barcelona-based artist, creates beautiful abstract paintings and textile sculptures that feel soft, warm, and meaningful. In this interview, she shares how her journey into art began, the rituals that help her connect with her creative side, and the importance of experimenting to keep her work fresh. Montserrat talks about accepting life’s cycles, finding meaning in the mundane, and how experimentation breathes new life into her art. Montserrat’s art invites us to reflect on life’s changes, accept our inner strength, and find comfort in the beauty of everyday moments.

Born and settled in Granollers, Barcelona (1980).  Nowadays, she sets her work between abstract paintings and textile sculptures.  She has a poetical view of composition and colour that gives a sense of ethereal warmth in each of her works. Her most explored topic is the ephemeral of time and the beauty of life because of that. Recently, she has looked closely at family lineage and spiritual connection as mundane and real approaches to herself. Fabrics and collage are the chosen languages to dive into those subjects. 

Nowadays, she explores textures and forms mostly through handmade dye, the use of fabric, and image transfer, creating touchable collages as a result. She dives into softness, fragility, and colour fading away through time.

Montserrat wants to give a spiritual experience, wake up feelings of any kind, and create an inner dialogue about why we do what we do in our lives. She invites us to turn on the light in those moments when questions are deep and dark. She says that even then, we can find a place where we feel sheltered and protected, and that space is within us through our connection to the spirit.

1. What inspired you to become an artist?

When I was 7 years old, my older sister took me to Ballet at Liceo Opera Theatre. That experience of beauty left a very deep mark on me. As a child, my vocation leaned more toward writing than painting. My love for painting emerged during my first art history classes in high school. From then on, it was clear that I wanted to dedicate myself to art.

For me, everything comes out of colour. I feel called by colour, and that’s where the dance begins with the textures and composition.

Montserrat Serra Nonell

2. What is your creative process like from start to finish?

When I get to my studio, I water my plants, light incense and a candle, and then I collage or write in my journal without overthinking. This helps me leave my everyday life outside the studio and get into the flow. It also helps me enter my artwork in progress with a clear mind. For me, everything comes out of colour. I feel called by colour, and that’s where the dance begins with the textures and composition. It is a slow process, sometimes weeks, to place, overlap, sew, remove, and put back.

3. How do you handle creative blocks or periods of low inspiration?

Nature takes time to sleep in winter and is reborn in spring. We, as artists and women, need those cycles, too. It is a natural process. Self-care is crucial in those periods: cooking nutritious food, spending time in nature, exercising, and reading about new things. Slowly, the craving for creation comes along.

4. What role does experimentation play in your art practice?

It is the main key in my creative process. Experimentation and play are needed to keep evolving. Letting myself create art that will never be shown helps me dive deep into experimentation. After that, a new chapter in my art practice is normally born.

5. What do you hope people take away from experiencing your art?

Art must connect us with emotion. It doesn’t matter if it’s a good or bad emotion, but it must make the person who observes it feel something. My main goal is to get the viewer to connect with their feelings, to make them feel, and to remind them that we are alive!

Montserrat’s work reminds us of the beauty in change and the strength we can find within ourselves. Her thoughtful approach to art encourages us to pause, reflect, and appreciate the little moments that bring light into our lives. Through her creations, she offers a sense of comfort and a deeper connection to the world around us. To learn more about Montserrat, visit the links below.