Loving & Letting Go

Art For Sale, Art Journal, creativity, Exhibition, Gallery, inspiration, Installation, process, Residency, Story

I am overjoyed with how the Loving & Letting Go exhibit came together. In the next few posts, I will be reflecting on different aspects of my solo show. Today’s post focuses on the exhibit itself. I absolutely love this view from the outside.

Huge thanks to Mark Woods and Vassilisa Kapila for these beautiful photos.

 

This may be my favorite wall in the show. There’s something about the way these pieces hang together (maybe it’s the blues) that I find so pleasing.

 

These works in the front of the gallery are what most likely come to mind when people think of one of my paintings ~ lots of depth with layered surfaces that are textured, weathered and worn. In these pieces, there’s a tension between opposing forces seeking resolution (motion/stillness, geometric/atmospheric, light/dark, etc) ~ a fitting match for show’s theme of loving and letting go.

 

 

 

I made the large paper piece on the left during my 2022 Chateau Orquevaux artist residency in France. After my morning writing, I headed into my studio and painted some quick works on paper just to loosen up.  At the end of our month, we were invited to exhibit the work we’d created…and I didn’t want to show 30 pieces of paper. So I decided to make a painting out of paper. This is what I came up with.

The 3 smaller pieces on the right are what my quick works on paper evolved into ~ these pages have taken on a life of their own, and are currently exhibiting in my solo show (“Little & Often”) in Chicago.

 

The beauty of this space is that it offered up different rooms that allowed me to showcase various sides of my creative practice. This little nook held more standalone pieces that were still pivotal in my journey.

 

Heading down the hall, I love this peekaboo view into this room. I enjoyed witnessing people’s responses as they stumbled upon this unexpected installation. The walls of the room are lined with 8 years of original journal pages.

Artist Talk

artist talk, creativity, Gallery, inspiration, Installation, process, Speaking, Story

“Following the Narrative Throughline”
Loving & Letting Go (solo show)
July 26, 2025 at 3pm

It was a pleasure to sit down with gallerist Devon Dunham to discuss the narrative thread that weaves through the art, film, and writing in my solo show, Loving & Letting Go.

Gallerist Otto Chan was kind enough to livestream the talk, so people were able to attend both online and in person. What a gift to spend time with you reflecting on the themes and stories that continue to fuel my work.

Enjoy!

00:43 Talk begins

01:08 Devon – intro & story about finding and reaching out to Eli.

04:03 Eli – stretching herself creatively for this show and reflects on the serendipity that made the hut installation possible.

08:20 Eli – her daily writing practice and the installation of her journal pages.

10:43 Devon & Eli – externalizing the internal world, and how the exhibit moves from the hut to the journal pages to the paintings.

14:30 Eli – tracing her creative journey back to the film, and discussing the inspiration behind making the film (the search for identity and belonging.)

17:54 Eli – film screening during the exhibit highlighted how her art picked up where the film left off.

18:55 Eli – this body of work exploring the theme of “Loving & Letting Go” began during her 2022 Chateau Orquevaux residency in France. This theme continues to resonate on multiple levels.

22:22 Devon & Eli – Loving and Letting Go as an act of self-exploration ~ a body of work to more deeply understand “Who Am I?”

24:18 Eli – her daughter’s response to the show.

25:25 Devon – shares visitors’ profoundly personal responses to the Chagga hut and his own reflection on Eli’s body of work.

29:24 [Audience question] Eli & Devon – share their thoughts on the painting behind them ~ “The Offering.”

33:24 [Audience question] Eli – shares creative process, how her work continues to surprise her, and the conversations she has with her work as it’s developing.

35:34 [Walk up the the front.]

36:08 Eli – the paintings in the front gallery (vs the back) and how they invite you to move in closer.

38:57 [Audience question] Eli – including writing in her work.

41:18 [Devon question] Eli – intention behind incorporating text and graphic imagery in her work.

45:06 Devon – asks audience member pick a favorite piece and share how it makes them feel.

47:30 Eli – difference between encaustic and cold wax medium, and how/why she works with oil & cold wax.

50:35 Eli – how she knows when a piece is done.

54:25 One final audience comment/question…

New Date for Solo Show!

Art For Sale, creativity, Exhibition, Film, Gallery, Installation, Narrative

I have a BIG update ~ my solo show in Seattle has been moved up two months!

So now, Loving & Letting Go” opens Thurs. July 3rd, 5-8pm at SlipStitch Studios. We have also scheduled a screening of my film and an artist talk later in the month. Then the show closes on August 2.

Of course, you are welcome to visit during gallery hours ~ Wed-Sat 12-5.

Additionally, I am scheduling private tours of the exhibit (on all days). If you’re interested, please DM/text/email me!! I’d love everyone who wants to see this exhibit to get a chance to experience it.

Thank you kindly.

ELIAICHI KIMARO
Loving & Letting Go

SlipStitch Studios
604 2nd Ave, Seattle
Gallery Hours: Wed – Sun, 12-5pm

EXHIBITION EVENTS

OPENING RECEPTION
July 3, 5-8pm
First Thursday Pioneer Sq Art Walk

SCREENING & DISCUSSION
A Lot Like You
July 10, 5-7:30pm
(Doors at 5, film at 5:30)

ARTIST TALK
The Narrative Throughline
July 26, 3-5pm

CLOSING RECEPTION
Sat., Aug 2, 5-8pm

EXHIBITION STATEMENT

Loving & Letting Go is a multidisciplinary body of work by Eliaichi Kimaro that reflects the emotional terrain of a life in transition. In a short span of time, Kimaro’s closest relationships have shifted — her daughter left for college, her husband relocated for work, and her parents are 9,000 miles away.
This body of work explores the emotional dichotomies shaping her life in this moment — presence and absence, intimacy and independence, acceptance and grief. Each piece holds opposing forces in conversation — stillness and motion, geometric and organic, light and dark — reflecting the tension between loving from afar while learning to let go.
Loving & Letting Go is both a personal meditation and a universal invitation to sit with complexity and to find beauty within life’s contradictions.

The Art of Daily Practice – Opening Reception

Art For Sale, Art Journal, CLUSTER, collaboration, creativity, Exhibition, Gallery, inspiration, Installation, process

Lynann Politte at Vashon Center for the Arts has been a joy to collaborate with on my solo show ~ The Art of Daily Practice. My work this past year has been fueled by a vision of what an exhibit of my journal pages could look like. And now, seeing how it all came together, I have to say reality far exceeded my dream!

So much creative collaboration goes into putting on a “solo” show. Many thanks to Lucky Rabbet Framing for doing such a mega job floating & framing 28 journal pages. Thanks also to Lynann and her mentor Paul Martinez who had their work cut out for them with this installation. The placement of every piece has been carefully considered…and the resulting exhibit looks spectacular!!

Coming up
Artist Talk: The Art of Daily Practice
Vashon Center for the Arts
Saturday, Feb. 17 at 2pm.

Thank you to all who came to the opening!! It was lovely to meet so many people new to my art, and to hear their reflections and see the work through their eyes. I was delighted to see old friends from all chapters of my adult life. And Vashon is home to members of my creative team from my film, A Lot Like You. I spent a lot of time on this island in the 8 years it took to make the film, and it was lovely to reunite with Eric Frith (editor), Pete Droge (composer), Elaine Summers (music supervisor) and Jeff Hoyt (voice over coach).

And finally, my gratitude to event photographer Wade Yip, as well as June Sekiguchi, Eric Frith and VCA gallery, for sharing their reception photos. Feel free to click on any image below and scroll through. Enjoy!

 

The Art of Daily Practice (Solo Show & Artist Talk)

Art For Sale, creativity, Exhibition, Gallery, process

In February, I will be exhibiting my latest work at one of my favorite art venues in the Pacific Northwest ~ Vashon Center for the Arts. Together with the gallery manager, Lynann Politte, we came up with a show idea about the ritual of daily practice.


In 2023, I challenged myself to create one small painting every day. I dusted off my smallest sketchbook and let go of any expectations of perfection. My only goal was to show up & play ~ experimenting with materials, color, form and technique. Pretty soon, my journal paintings broke free from covering the whole page, and these bold, colorful forms started to emerge.

This exhibit will include a sampling of my journal pages and some of the larger pieces they inspired.

In my Artist Talk, I will share new research findings about how engaging regularly in a creative practice, regardless of skill level, transforms our brains and bodies. And I will reflect on the most surprising take-aways from my daily writing and painting practice.

Vashon Center for the Arts
19600 Vashon Hwy SW
Vashon, WA 98070
Opening Reception: Fri Feb 2, 5-8pm.
Artist Talk:  Sat Feb 17, 2pm.
Exhibit dates: Feb 2-25
Gallery Hours: Wed-Sun, 12-5pm

Artist Spotlight

Art For Sale, article, creativity, Exhibition, Gallery, process
What fun to answer questions that aren’t solely focused on my art.
Thank you to Columbia City Gallery!!
(See original post HERE).

🤩 Artist Spotlight: Eliaichi Kimaro has been with Columbia City Gallery for 7yrs. Her newest work can be seen in our “Sanctuary” exhibit thru 1/7.
eliaichi kimaro
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Favorite Seattle neighborhood
• Columbia City, Seward Park ~ happy to love where I live.

Favorite Seattle restaurant & menu item
• El Kiosko’s carnitas burritos, Marination’s spicy pork kimchi fried rice, Chucks Hop Shop’s fries, Hey Day’s pesto bacon toast, King Donuts’ chocolate old fashioned.

Favorite Seattle park
• Seward Park

Favorite style of house
• Craftsman

Favorite movie theater
• I love(d) Seattle’s Landmark theaters ~ esp. Harvard Exit, Egyptian, Seven Gables

Who would play you in the movie of your life?
• Octavia Spencer could pull off my blend of funny + earnest.

What’s your go-to comfort food?
• Bibimbap, waffles.

Where’s the coolest place you traveled?
•  Gombe National Park ~ Jane Goodall’s chimpanzee reserve. Met her son, sat in the house she built with her mom in the 70s and talked with her fellow researcher for several hours. And spent whole days observing and walking amongst chimps in the wild.

Favorite karaoke song
• Faithfully, Killing Me Softly, The Jeffersons theme song

What’s your best Halloween costume?
• Morpheus (The Matrix)

Origin Story – The Offering

Art For Sale, creativity, Exhibition, Gallery, Narrative, Origin story, process, Story, Works In Progress


The Offering (48″x48″): I love pieces that develop in their own time. As these paintings grow with me over months, my challenges, wishes, joys and sorrows get embedded in the layers. The painting becomes a time capsule that captures who I am and how I’m feeling as the piece evolves.

I love some of the color and energy in the earlier versions, but these passages, while pretty, were meaningless. I relish paintings where the struggle leads me to unknown places and pushes me beyond my capabilities. At their best, my paintings feel like an archeological discovery, as if I’m unearthing something that’s always been there. The finished piece is something I never could (or would) set out to paint. So these origin stories remind me of how a painting came to be…

 


June 15, 2023: I am both here and not here…a meditation on impermanence that is resonating with me today. And so I embedded it in the first layer of this 48″x48″ piece.

 


June 18
: Starting to build up surface history that I can later work back into. Happy to be working large once again…

 


June 22: Working on large pieces in a small studio makes it hard to stand back and view the painting from a distance. So posting progress pics on Instagram scales down the image, allowing me to troubleshoot compositional problems and figure out where the piece wants to go next…🤓

 


June 25: Very early stages yet, but after a brief TimeOut, we’re starting to listen to each other…

Upcoming Feature Show

Art For Sale, Exhibition, Gallery

SANCTUARY

Columbia City Gallery
Exhibit runs Nov 15 – Jan 7

Featured Artists: Tina Albro, Patrick Connelly, Carol Berger Hershman,
Eliaichi Kimaro, Leslie Nan Moon,  Rupa Palasmudram

Opening Reception
Sat., November 18
5 – 7pm
Columbia City Gallery
4864 Rainier Ave S., Seattle 98118
Light refreshments will be served.

 

Artist Statement
Since the pandemic, I’ve come to a deeper understanding and appreciation about the role of art in my life. Making art is no longer an ‘if I have time’ matter. It has become as integral to my well-being as my daily writing practice. Art helps me repair and restore the parts of my soul that are beyond the reach of words.

This collection of new works includes examples of loosening up, digging deep, trying new things, and letting go ~ all creative risks I’ve taken this past year in the comfort and safety of my studio.

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Scanning the Room

Activism, Art For Sale, collaboration, creativity, Exhibition, Gallery
I’m honored to be a participating artist in “Scanning the Room” at Vashon Center for the Arts (May 5-28). This invitational exhibit, co-curated by June Sekiguchi and Lynann Politte, presents works from 20 Asian American Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander (AANHPI) artists that speak to identity, politics, or experience of how AANHPI artists view their place in predominantly white spaces.
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You can take a 3D tour of the exhibit HERE.
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And here’s a short reel of our opening night. Thanks to all who came out!! It feels wonderful to be back in spaces where we can gather, discuss, and celebrate the arts!
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Art Pages

Art Journal, creativity, Crush/Repeat, Gallery, inspiration, process

In March, I participated in Crush/Repeat, a 31-day challenge to create something every day. I decided to focus on creating a small painting in my sketchbook daily.  And now I can’t stop!

I could line a shelf with all the sketchbooks I’ve abandoned after a couple pages of tentative marks. So I pulled out my smallest (5.5″x8.5″), cheapest sketchbook  and let go of any expectation to produce anything finished. My only goal was to show up & play ~ experimenting with colors, materials and techniques. The lessons learned from these bold little explorations are starting to show up in my larger paintings.

Starting my days by writing in my journal, followed by a 20 minute art page, loosens me up and gets me in the zone. I am no longer tethered to needing a full day in the studio to feel like I got my creativity fix. If 20 minutes is all I have, I know it will be enough. 🤠

(I’m grateful to my friend, Helen Kim, for showing me the way of her morning pages.)