Creativity Coach, Artist + Author

Petra Monaco

Ready to get your ideas out of your head and out into the world?

I’m Petra, an immigrant, adventurer + Master of Adversity and Excuse Eliminator.

I know a thing or two about not taking action on the ideas that have lived in your head for far too long and feeling frustrated about it all.

I help you bridge the gap between your ideas and turn them into tangible projects.

I am passionate about overcoming the excuses we make when it comes to our creative ideas. So many times we hear we need to play it safe (you know get a job, retire, and die) and it just sounds so incredibly boring.

For the last few years, I’ve been focusing on doing what I want, which doesn’t look like what everyone else wants all the time.

Some people dream of Paris, and I dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Some people go to the beach and sleep in motels, I am looking for primitive campgrounds to spend the weekend.

Some people focus on creating lots of money, I guide clients through the process of turning their dreams into action plans that will lead them to tangible results.

Some people love to focus on just one thing and spend all their time working. I like to split my time between spending time with my dogs, helping clients, creating art, writing books and blogs, and exploring the outdoors.

I’ve been a traveler my whole life, having lived in three foster homes in Germany, and visited Italy, Austria, Sweden, France, Spain, and Denmark before immigrating to the US a few months after my 18th birthday. I put travel on hold as I became a parent to three boys, with my youngest having been born with a rare genetic disorder, and undergoing three liver transplants and additional developmental needs.

My creativity never stopped and neither did my dreams of being an author, selling my art, and helping people along the way. Now being a semi-empty nester I started hiking and camping fueling my passion for travel once again.

My dreams led me to make art at Smoky Wood Studios, be the founder of the Wild Hearted Community, and write about my travels.

I create art.

I coach and guide.

I hike.

I camp.

I drink copious amounts of coffee.

Not necessarily in that order.

In 2005, I wanted to create my own wood-beads for a macrame project and bought myself a wood-burning pen.

I hate to say it but I have never made those beads as I discovered that I have a bit of a knack for wood-burning.

Every now and then you can find me crocheting which was my first love but uh …well has not been replaced with the passion of pyrography!

I am fortunate to live in Central Virginia, the gateway to Blue Ridge Parkway and Shenandoah National Park, with my partner and our two dogs Zina and Ringo.

There is no shortage of trails and camping areas in our region and they have become my playground. This is where I go and find introspection and solve the problems of the world. As a creative freedom coach and artist, nature fuels my inspiration and is my time away from a world that is so consumed with unnecessary noise.