Spirit HeARTJourneys

MAGGIE YOWELL
Collage and Paper Artist
Spiritual Director
Creativity Coach
SoulCollage® Facilitator 

Veriditas Trained Labyrinth Facilitator
Doula

Collage and Paper Artist

I am a collage and paper artist. My art is influenced by Japanese and Native American art and culture, and comes from my own spiritual core.
I have always been drawn to Japanese culture, and have lived and traveled extensively in Japan, observing rock gardens, the tea ceremony, Ikebana, haiku, dance, and theatre. Simplicity, emptiness, directness, and naturalness are hallmarks of Japanese Zen Buddhist art. This Zen aesthetic permeates modern Japan's artistic sensibilities, subtly expressing the moods of nature and the changing seasons. In Japan, 1,000 cranes are said to bring hope, peace, life and good fortune. Years ago, I hand folded 1,000 origami paper cranes using traditional Japanese origami and washi papers. Working with these amazing Japanese papers, I realized my love for paper – that fragile medium that begins as a tree.

Trees have played an important part in my journey as an artist. While studying Native American arts in Wolf Creek, Montana about sixteen years ago, I went on a two-day vision quest. Sitting in an eight foot circle beside and within a mountain stream. I was visited by fish, birds, spiders, deer and owl. On the second night of my quest, I looked up at the trees above and noticed that all of their branches looked like arms reaching out to the heavens above, in a gesture of prayer. Looking to see what the trees were looking at, I saw a perfect cross made of stars in the night sky.  This was my vision. When I returned from my vision quest, I made a commitment to be a co-creator, bringing beauty to the earth through the arts. I want to give full voice to my authentic self by sharing and expressing my inner wisdom, spirit and creativity.

Now living in Seattle, Washington, I am surrounded by trees, as well as mountains, lakes, ocean, sound, sun, rain, and stars.  These images connect me with the Japanese aesthetic, remind me of my vision quest, and inspire my collages. My favorite elements for collage are text in different languages, fragments from sacred works of art, Japanese origami and handmade papers, leaves, and bark. I also create my own marbled and handmade papers. Working with these small fragments of paper – with color, pattern, texture, words and intricate scenes - I create larger images that embody the richness of each element. For me, these collages reflect my personal theology that all things are connected; everything is a reflection of Spirit.

Solo Exhibitions

Habitude Gallery; Fremont, Seattle, WA [April 2002]

Habitude Gallery; Ballard, Seattle, WA [February - March 2002]

Group Exhibitions

Saint Andrew's Artists Exhibit, Saint Andrews Episcopal Church, Seattle, Washington [Summer 2007]

Saint Mark's Artists Exhibit, Saint Mark's Cathedral, Seattle, Washington [Spring 2006] 

Lawyerpalooza, Premier Club, Seattle, Washington [May 2005]

Shoreline Community Arts Center, Shoreline, Washington [March -May 2005]

The 6th Bakers Dozen International Collage Exhibit, Subtaranian Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand [April 2004]

"Sacred Visions, Voices of the Soul", Antioch College, Seattle, Washington [January-February 2004]

“The Beat”, Mary Lou Zeek Gallery, Salem, Oregon [January 2004]

National Collage Society Inc., 5th Annual Postcard Exhibition, Cork Gallery, Lincoln Center, New York, NY [June 2002]

The 3rd Bakers Dozen International Collage Exhibit, Subtaranian Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand [2001]

National Collage Society Inc., 4th Annual Postcard Exhibition, Stocker Center Gallery, Lorain County Community College, Elyria, Ohio [June 2001]

Fish Painting performance piece with Jackie Apple, Highways Performance Space, Santa Monica, California [1993]

Auctions

Medusa Speaks of the Sea, auctioned at Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training Silent Auction [2003]

House of Dreams, auctioned at Forum for Women Entrepreneurs’ Northwest Annual Entrepreneurial Awards Dinner [2003]

Community, auctioned at CASA Fundraiser [2002]

how much fun it is to fly a kite,  auctioned at International Fort Worden Kite Makers Conference [2001]

Collections

Western Views I, International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction, Cuernavaca, Mexico

Western Views II, ArtColle, the museum and gallery of collage, Sergines, France

Northwest Views I, International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction, Cuernavaca, Mexico

Town Hall, Marten Law Group PLLC Rotating Collection