My Story

I'm a Reiki Sensei, Meditation Mentor, and Zentangle® Teacher whose life—and art—was changed forever when a TBI gave me the ability to see energy

“The accident changed me. It’s not just the headaches… I went down a rabbit hole, like Alice, and wound up in a new wonderland inside my head. The artist was there waiting.”

ARTIST FEATURE BELOW BY K.B. CHEN & R. ROBINSON FOR HOBBS IN SWARTHMORE (2022)

Marie Antoinette grew up watching excellent professional artists create their work, most notably her uncle, Manolo Silva, and world-famous artist, Leonardo Nierman, who’s work has been classified as “magical expressionism”.

The artists inspired Marie to incessantly sketch and draw with passion. But she was raised to be "sensible" and make a living the “normal way.”
So Marie cleverly stepped into the world of art dealership and restoration. Master art dealer Don Miguel Gaspar (Sala Gaspar, Barcelona, Spain) trained her to detect forgeries and to work on fine art restorations. Marie spent the next 20 years dealing and appraising art in Chicago.

A few years after moving to Swarthmore, Pa., Marie felt called to be a healer. She was already a certified Reiki Master, so she started her own Reiki/meditation practice. But even then, she couldn’t turn off her artistic side – teaching a form of drawing meditation called Zentangle as part of her healing practice.

All along, Marie was sketching as a means of personal expression, but primarily with pencil...using color was a challenge. In 2017, Marie suffered a traumatic brain injury from a car accident and suddenly, something opened in her brain.

Color worked! The TBI caused Post Concussion Syndrome, a neurological disorder that changed more than her abilities with color. Her entire world turned upside down.

(continued below)

“Dissatisfaction is the state of living. Beauty and discomfort go hand in hand. Anything short of that is fake. That’s how we recognize true beauty—it sings to our souls.

I seek the juxtaposition of pain and love.”

—Marie Antoinette

She’s had major personality changes. Blurred vision, dizziness and tinnitus have all combined to make her more quiet and introverted. Migraines shorten her days. Focus is hard.

She needs to meditate several hours a day to help with the debilitating symptoms. She’d used art as meditation for decades. Now that work is saving her life.

Marie must create every moment her migraines and blurred vision allow.

This collection (there is much more) is her physical therapy and has evolved organically over the last four years.

The artist says, “It’s saved me. I love doing this. And it’s not work. And ART!”

Today, M.A is a painter, photographer, mixed media artist & author.

She paints and photographs elements of life, beautiful and raw, often focusing on spiritual subjects.

Using oil and acrylic paint, sculptural elements, fabric work, gold and silver leafing – even glitter and dirt, she enhance the textures and dimensions of her paintings.

Some of her pieces feature zodiac signs and reiki symbols. ALL of them have hidden magical Sigils and are infused with Reiki healing intentions for the wellness, prosperity and health of the collectors.

All her visual stories spring from a personal history.

Marie’s pieces are often part of a broader series: tryptics that tell stories and diptychs with themes.

She currently has magical, erotic, fanart and spirit series.