"I’m a healer," Catherine Foster says, "and I believe that I can channel my healing energy into my artwork for the benefit of many."

That’s the guiding philosophy she brings to her artwork, which is sold in galleries from Maine to Oregon. An artist for more than three decades who works from her studio in Poulsbo, Wash., Foster now specializes in creating artwork that brings what she calls "the healing vibration" into homes, offices and hospitals. "Art can be a powerful influence on your health," Foster says. "My art brings an extraordinary energy into a room."

Foster is considered one of the more gifted artists in the Pacific Northwest. She uses a wide variety of materials, including painted and woven metals, handmade papers, acrylic gels and countless other materials. Some would call her works "wall sculpture."

Prices of her works range from $700 to $5,000.

In addition to her healing art, Foster also is working on a major project she calls "Peace Prevails." This project was inspired during a morning meditation, a vital part of her day. "I believe in the importance of living life as a prayer," says Foster. "My practice of Tai Chi and Qi Gong help me to honor this concept every day."

Each piece of art is created by weaving together multi-colored foils, which she says represent diversity. Embossed lettering on the woven foils express the phrase "peace prevails" in about 200 languages. Thus, "My art echoes the universal desire for peace," Foster says. Eventually, she hopes to make the project a multi-media experience, with voices speaking the words "peace prevails" in many languages.

Her focus on healing and peace is a relatively new direction for Foster. In the early 2000s, she had been creating art that she sold to wholesalers based in California, Texas and Washington who specialized in large residential and commercial projects. Like many artists, she has experienced financial highs and lows in her career. In 2005, demand for her work was at a peak. Then, "2006 was a terrible year," Foster says. "The home-design market has completely dried up."

With the recent slump in the real estate market, Foster is seeking to place her work in more galleries across the U.S. At the moment, her work is being sold in five galleries, including the Bella Perla Gallery and the Real Mother Goose, both in Portland, Ore., and Earthenworks Gallery in La Conner, Wash.

Foster’s Kimono series of artwork has been very popular in galleries in recent years. Foster creates her Kimonos by painting on copper and aluminum foils; then, she weaves the components to create large sculptural pieces in the shape of a kimono. (Foster often has the help of her husband, Fred, in creating the structural supports for her Kimonos.)

Finding galleries to sell artwork can be a quite challenge for an artist. “Choosing the right gallery to represent my work is very important to me," she says. "My art is filled with creative, healing energy and it is important for buyers to understand the power embedded within each piece."