One woman's artistic take on 1990s Subaru ownership

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In the modern world, the term “creator” has become a little shopworn with overuse. Access to the internet and social media has turned an entire generation into would-be artists, musicians, and broadcasters. But perhaps there’s something more to being truly creative. Perhaps it’s about challenging yourself. Perhaps it’s about being willing to get your hands dirty.

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“I decided I was going to take a different approach and just learn to drive manual on my own,” says Maya Uhryniuk.  “I made a sign for the back window that said ‘Learning stick, honk for support!’ And people were really supportive, I got so many honks and waves and thumbs-ups.”

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Uhryniuk, 28, is a graduate of the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, with a Bachelors in Design. She is also the kind of person who buys a non-running 1996 Subaru Legacy for less than $500, fixes it up, and then teaches herself how to use its manual gearbox and clutch. Further, she is the sort of person who takes that Legacy on an off-road camping trip and accidentally knocks the exhaust pipe off it. And then fixes that too.

“Since I was a little kid playing with Hot Wheels, I was fascinated with cars,” she says, “I collected a few [model] cars and watched Top Gear. In university I had this broken Honda Civic, and some friends said we should try to rescue it. My parents aren’t very car-oriented, so trying to fix that Honda was where it started. It didn’t work though!”

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Uhryniuk now has two Subarus, both bought on a student budget and wrenched on herself. She had help getting the Legacy running, but she calls her later Outback Sport her quarantine project. It took about nine months to get it up and running, and there are some plans afoot for it. More on that later.

Before she owned either car, Maya began drawing cars. Her schooling was more oriented towards architectural drafting, so drawing realistic portraits of cars was a fun hobby. She sketched her Legacy out the way she’d like it to be: lifted, rally-style gold wheels, a roof box carrying a shovel and a jerry can. Her very first post is this portrait, captioned: “Hi my name is Maya and I’m addicted to cars.”

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For those who like to draw or take photos, Instagram is a more modern and interactive version of the tradition of having a portfolio. If people like your stuff, they spread it around and other people notice. Uhryniuk started getting commissions from local car owners and specialist shops. Her work started showing up on stickers and t-shirts. She gave drawings away as thank-yous to people helping her fix up her Legacy.

At some point, Maya’s Instagram posts about her Subaru art and adventuring caught the eye of Subaru Canada’s marketing team. They commissioned her to do a series of portraits of Subarus out on expeditions.

“We talked about what kind of environment the cars should be in, and what kind of accessories they should have on them,” Uhryniuk says. Reflecting a ad campaign for the Outback, she even drew a little mountain goat into one.

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The Legacy, which is still on the road today, was eventually fixed up to look like her original sketch, with a lift kit and off-road tires. Maya took it on a number of off-road camping adventures, and explored kilometre after kilometre of B.C.’s forest service roads. However, she had an itch at the back of her head about a dream car — and an unusual one.

While browsing through a heritage display on Subaru USA’s website, she’d come across a tiny picture of something wonderful. “I had to do a bunch of searching to find out what it was,” she says. “You can go right down the rabbit hole.”

The car in question was the aptly-named and very rare Subaru Gravel Express. Available only in Japan as a variant of the first-generation Subaru Impreza, the Gravel Express was a blend of the off-road-focused Outback trim and the rally-bred WRX. Essentially a lifted version of the WRX wagon, it got an aggressive front bull bar up front and a full-sized external tire-carrier out back.

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“It’s such an iconic 1990s design,” Uhryniuk says, “Everything I like about a Subaru, an off-road capable fast car with a WRX engine.”

Subaru could fairly easily bring back the Gravel Express concept by putting the WRX drivetrain into the current Crosstrek. However, because that’s not available and real Impreza Gravel Expresses are very rare, Maya settled on an Outback Sport instead.

She found the car at the beginning of COVID, two-tone red and grey to match her Legacy. This time, she wanted to learn the mechanical side of things on her own, so she dived in under the hood.

“I learned a lot about disc brakes,” Uhryniuk says, “Replaced the radiator — it was my independent project.”

She also switched out the taillights for Japanese home market versions, and recently picked up a front bumper and rear spoiler from a wrecked JDM Subaru STI. The plan is to get these paint-matched, then fit them herself and be one step closer to having her own Gravel Express tribute.

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This year she recruited her boyfriend for a backroads trip with both Subarus. Maya hopped back and forth between the driver’s seats, depending on which of her cars she was in the mood to drive that day.

As for artwork and illustration, Maya has a few projects in progress that she can’t talk about just yet. You can follow along with her on Instagram at foliomotive to see what’s coming next.

Whatever it is will be interesting, a bit daring, and maybe involve a hint of grease under fingernails. Because the secret to being truly creative isn’t just about dreaming things up. It’s in learning by doing; rolling up your sleeves, and picking up the wrench.