Visual Arts Ministry

The Visual Arts Ministry creates ongoing opportunities for the community to engage with the arts in a variety of ways. They work with artists to bring exhibits to the nave; encourage people to visit art exhibits, museums, and events around the city; partner with other ministries to support the intersection of art and spirituality; offer hands-on art creation; and occasionally acquire long-term art installations at Saint Mark's. Art is for everyone—it is a medium that allows us to explore our diverse relationships to the divine and to one another. The Visual Arts Ministry welcomes new members who are interested in contributing to any part of this work.

Deborah Brown & Wayne Duncan (visualarts@saintmarks.org)

CURRENTLY ON EXHIBIT IN THE NAVE

The Fruits of the Spirit

SUMMER 2026

Inspired by Galatians 5:22-25, this is a colorful collection of images by cathedral member Sandy Nelson that illustrate the fruits of the Spirit. Each piece represents one of the fruits as written in Galatians with corresponding words from a hymn or scripture verse that relate to the larger word, creating an interesting composition of words and images. These are a powerful reminder of living, as guided by the Spirit! 

Upcoming Exhibit

Saint Mark's Visual Arts Ministry is partnering with the Quilting Ministry to bring a quilt exhibit to the cathedral nave in January 2027. We invite quilters from across the Episcopal Church in Western Washington to submit their original works reflecting our theme: “The Joy of Creating.” Registration closes October 23, 2026. More information and the entry form is here.

IN OUR PERMANENT COLLECTION

The Cathedral Baptismal Font

by Julie Speidel

Acclaimed Northwest sculptor Julie Speidel designed a font for Saint Mark’s, in white Vermont marble and patinated bronze. Speidel’s sculptures engage an array of cultural influences, reaching back through antiquity to the stone- and bronze-age peoples of Europe, the early Buddhists of China, the indigenous tribes of her native Pacific Northwest, and on into twentieth-century modernism. The artist's design for Saint Mark’s Baptismal Font was influenced by the cathedral’s own architectural elements, incorporating reflections of its rose window, a patina mirroring the Flentrop organ pipes, and geometry mirroring its arched windows.

The Stations of the Cross

by Virginia Maksymowicz

Every year since 2018, Saint Mark’s has displayed displays Virginia Maksymowicz’s Stations of the Cross, during Lent. They are cast sculptural reliefs in a tradition of religious imagery that dates back to the 13th century. Maksymowicz worked with a variety of models, culled from a wide range of ages and ethnicities. She explains, "I wanted the narrative of Christ’s passion and death to be represented in a way that is tensioned between the 'specific' and the 'universal.'" In 2022, these artworks were gifted to the cathedral's collection by the Rt. Rev. Gregory Rickel and Marti Rickel, to the glory of God and in loving memory of Bishop Rickel's father, Morris E. Rickel Jr.

We Walk Together: Reflections on Pilgrimage

by Saint Mark's Community Members

Saint Mark's parishioners submitted photographs reflecting on a personal experience of sacred travel. The subject matter of the photos in the exhibition ranges from the cathedral's own 2023 Celtic pilgrimage and 2022 journey to the Holy Land, to experiences of the Camino de Santiago, to our own backyard. The hallway is usually accessible when the office is open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Birds of a Feather

by Peter Boome

A collection of art by Peter Boome, Coast Salish Artist and member of the Upper Skagit Tribe of Washington State, was on display in 2022. Many of his pieces explore the connection between spirituality and the natural world. The Saint Mark's community raised the funds to purchase "Birds of a Feather," which is on display in Bloedel Hall.

SELECT PAST EXHIBITS

  • Healing & Hope in War Zones

    SUMMER 2025 Presented by Saint Mark’s Visual Arts Ministry and Sacred Spaces, this new exhibit features artwork by children from Gaza and Ukraine, offering a glimpse into the realities of war through the eyes of the young. The display will be located in...

    Continue reading

  • Sacred Beauty: Images of the Holy

    photographs by Jim Friedrich SUMMER 2025 Episcopal priest and artist Jim Friedrich has shared photos from cathedrals and settings in Italy, France, and England that have been assembled to show how the beauty of holiness speaks through sacred spaces and religious forms....

    Continue reading

  • Sacred Icons

    by Fr. Peter Pearson January–March and Eastertide, 2025 Icons have served since the earliest days of Christianity as spiritual aids, and they have enjoyed something of a renaissance of spiritual purpose in recent times. Byzantine iconography is an ancient and...

    Continue reading

  • Stations of the Cross

    by Virginia Maksymowicz Since 2018, the Stations of the Cross by artist Virginia Maksymowicz have been displayed in the nave of Saint Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle each Lent. Although they were originally commissioned by St Thomas Episcopal Church in Lancaster, PA—a very different kind of church...

    Continue reading

  • Coast Salish Art

    by Peter Boome April 2022 through July 2022 The Visual Arts Ministry of Saint Mark’s Cathedral and Saint Mark’s Creation Care Ministry are delighted to co-sponsor an exhibition of works by Peter Boome, Coast Salish Artist and member of the Upper Skagit Tribe of...

    Continue reading

  • Sanctuary

    site-specific textile installation by Josh Faught January 2017 – October 2018 For Sanctuary, a commissioned work for Saint Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle, Josh Faught creates a textile that extends the length of the cathedral’s massive southeast pillar. Through woven texts, sheet music,...

    Continue reading