On the night of August 23, 2015, Brazilian author and visual artist Monica Septimio had an impactful dream. The next morning, she tried to illustrate the dream message to herself, even though she had never painted before. Since then, when she had inspirational dreams, she tried to illustrate them. These paintings had deep meanings that impacted many people, eventually leading to an exhibition six months after her first painting. At the event, she noticed a collection of sequential paintings forming a story. This collection of paintings gave life to her first book, published a year later. The paintings transformed darkness into light, directing the author to study art and psychology.
When her youngest son was little, she wished for bilingual books for their bedtime stories. At the time, there were not many bilingual Portuguese/English children's books around. This became a strong influence on her work as a writer.
Septimio would go on to create her own bilingual books, which she illustrated with her paintings. In her second year after becoming a writer, she became a children's ministry leader at Waltham Cathedral of Worship, her local church, for over 3 years, further encouraging her to write more children's books. She was a seminarian for four years at Christian Preaching College in Framingham, MA. She studied philosophy for two years at the University of Philosophy of Maranhão in Rondon do Pará, Brazil, before immigrating to the US. She is a 003 member of the International Academy of Brazilian Literature. She has held four major painting exhibitions and has participated in many fairs and festivals and numerous small exhibitions around Boston. She has participated many times in conferences by presenting live paintings.
In 2017 she created a class called "Paintings From the Soul" based on her own experience with art as a healing medium. This work consists of people who paint from a message following a specific theme. The effect of this group's paintings resulted in an exhibition at the Brazilian Consulate in Boston on the night of October 20, 2017. One of the most outstanding achievements of "Paintings From the Soul" was volunteering at MAPS, a volunteer group for survivors of domestic violence.
Septimio has three sons. She lives in Waltham, MA, with her husband and youngest son. She currently attends a program at Massachusetts State Community University.
Her published works include the following:
"Nothing Is Impossible" - "Nada é impossível"
"Be Thankful, Be thankful" - Seja Agradecido"
"White Dresses" - Vestes Brancas"
"Sad"
