Force of Nature: Couple create artistic and healing collective in Washougal

Embrace Qi nonprofit offers sustainable living, wellness classes at Rising Phoenix Farm

By Monika Spykerman, Staff writer

January 29, 2026 8:04 am

Health, Life, News, Washougal, Wellness

Yvonne Yeh Gee reaches out to touch her rescue cat, Barney, in her huge craft studio on Dec. 19. The room is the site of many workshops hosted through Gee’s nonprofit wellness collective, Embrace Qi. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Yvonne Yeh Gee, left, and David Van Zandt stand for a portrait Dec. 19 at Rising Phoenix Farm in Washougal. Gee is the founder of the wellness collective Embrace Qi and Van Zandt is a painter and sculptor who works out of his huge hillside studio on the farm. The two are building a community of people to share their positive energy or “qi.” (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Artist David Van Zandt sculpted Shakti, an 8-foot-tall bronze statue that sits outside his studio at Rising Phoenix Farm in Washougal. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Yvonne Ye Gee, founder of the nonprofit wellness collective Embrace Qi, is a representative for Young Living, a company that sells natural wellness products containing essential oils. A huge selection of oils is displayed in a cabinet in a craft room at Rising Phoenix Farm in Washougal. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

The “wind phone” is a disconnected rotary phone that visitors to Rising Phoenix Farm can use to talk with departed loved ones. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

One of David Van Zandt’s recent paintings is on display in his 1,800-square-foot studio at Rising Phoemix Farm in Washougal. The farm is also home to Embrace Qi, the wellness collective founded by Van Zandt’s partner, Yvonne Yeh Gee. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

The “wind phone” is a disconnected phone in the greenhouse at Rising Phoenix Farm that can be used to talk to the spirits of departed ones. There are two phones in the greenhouse — one for talking to the beyond, and another that will become a poetry phone, so guests can pick it up and hear a poem. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Artist David Van Zandt works on a painting in his huge studio at Rising Phoenix Farm in Washougal. The sculptor and oil painter intends to offer an array of classes about art and creativity in 2026. Van Zandt’s partner, Yvonne Yeh Gee, founded the wellness collective Embrace Qi, which hosts classes and workshops at the studio and in the couple’s large home. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

The geese Maud, right, and Claire keep a watchful eye over their pen Dec. 19 at Rising Phoenix Farm in Washougal. The farm is home to Embrace Qi, a wellness collective launched by Yvonne Yeh Gee. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Arnold the rescue cat patrols Rising Phoenix Farm on Dec. 19. The Washougal farm is home to Embrace Qi, a wellness collective founded by Yvonne Yeh Gee and her partner, artist David Van Zandt. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

The first thing I saw as I drove into Rising Phoenix Farm is an 8-foot-tall woman gazing serenely toward the horizon. She’s seated in a meditative pose with her legs crossed and open hands resting on her knees, her bronze skin impervious to rain or sun. Her name is Shakti and she watches over the farm’s 51/2 acres in the green hills near Washougal. The farm is home to Yvonne Yeh Gee’s nonprofit wellness collective Embrace Qi and the huge studio belonging to Gee’s partner and Shakti’s sculptor, David Van Zandt.

Gee and Van Zandt are steadily building a community of like-minded people who want to tap into their “life force energy,” as Gee defines “qi” (pronounced “chee”), a foundational concept in Chinese medicine and culture. That might be through an art class in Van Zandt’s studio or a sustainable living workshop in the large living room of the couple’s home, offering breathtaking views of Mount Hood.

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