Columbia City Gallery

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!

Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA)
#Hashtag (is hidden in the painting.)
Artist Statement
Install shot
Grid of journal pages
Install shot
w/Lynann Politte, VCA Gallery Manager (June Sekiguchi)
w/CLUSTER members Theresa Neinas & June Sekiguchi. (We’re heading to Stockholm in April for a group show!) Photo courtesy of June Sekiguchi
Photo courtesy of VCA Gallery
w/Eric Frith, my film editor. Photo courtesy of Eric Frith.
Photo courtesy of VCA Gallery
Talking w/Eric, Jeff & Cindy Hoyt. Jeff was my narration coach for my film. Photo courtesy of VCA Gallery
Photo courtesy of Wade Yip
Photo courtesy of VCA Gallery
w/Pete Droge, my film composer. Photo courtesy of VCA Gallery
Photo courtesy of VCA Gallery
Photo courtesy of VCA Gallery
Photo courtesy of VCA Gallery
Photo courtesy of VCA Gallery
Photo courtesy of VCA Gallery
Talking art & making plans with Ann Leda Shapiro.Photo courtesy of VCA Gallery
Artist & her Grid. Photo courtesy of Wade Yip

 

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
. . . . . . . . .
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)

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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…

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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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Transforming Trauma Into Art

Activism, creativity, family, Film, inspiration, Narrative, podcast, press, process, Speaking, Story

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE

I was recently a guest on the Future Tripping Podcast, a project of the Trauma Stewardship Institute. The host, Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, is an author/activist, an internationally recognized leader in the field of trauma exposure ~ and one of my dearest friends for the past 30+ years! As such, she holds all the pieces of my personal, family, work and creative life. At its core, our conversation reveals the depth and breadth of “making art to better understand my cultural inheritance and legacy,” and shows why art – the creation and maintenance of it – can be an essential act of liberation.💗

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.)

 

Upcoming Feature Show

Art For Sale, Exhibition, Gallery

The Seen & The Unseen World  –  60″x 36″ Acrylic mixed media on wood panel

I have been steeped in learning over the past few years, and am excited to share this new body of work. My latest series explores formal and informal grid compositions using a limited palette.

Just a Moment
Columbia City Gallery*
March 23 – May 8, 2022

Opening reception: Sat. March 26 from 5-7pm

Gallery Hours: Wednesday – Sunday, 11-6pm (or by appointment)
* While this is my annual feature show,
Columbia City Gallery exhibits my work year round.

Come As You Are – 24″x 24″ Oil & cold wax on wood panel

Winter/Spring Art News…

Art For Sale, collaboration, creativity, education, Exhibition, Gallery, inspiration, Narrative, process, Speaking, Story

Just published my Newsletter with updates on 1) creative collaborations with filmmakers, authors, musicians & chefs, 2) my foray into teaching, and 3) shows in venues around town.

You can click the Subscribe button at the top of the page if you would like receive my newsletters (I send out 2-3 a year).

“Composing a Life” – Acrylic mixed media on 24″x 24″ wood shipping panel.

 

Memorial Day (Commission) – Origin Story

collaboration, creativity, inspiration, Narrative, Origin story, process, Story, Works In Progress
This Spring, I received a captivating commission request. Chris Weber and Jack Gingrich were long-time employees and soon-to-be co-owners of The Herbfarm, a restaurant that creates thematic 9-course dinners showcasing the exceptional seasonal food and wines of the Pacific Northwest.

In his initial email, Chris shared The Herbfarm’s compelling origin story. Theirs is an inter-generational story of hope, ambition, success, tragedy, resilience, and grace. At its essence, this painting would be about inheritance and legacy ~ my creative core. As I read it, I could clearly see how every layer of this painting could correspond to a chapter in The Herbfarm’s life.


On our site visit, a few more things came into focus. The decor of the restaurant is formal Victorian, which is not in my artistic wheelhouse. Having an abstract piece was going to be a departure, so I wanted to keep it simple, organic and elegant. I wanted the painting to feel like a weathered, textured rock face you might encounter on a hike. Against the dark walls, this statement piece would be mostly white and monochromatic. We decided on a diptych with a circle connecting the two halves, but wanted to make sure the two halves could also stand on their own. And mimicking the restaurant’s palette, I limited my paint palette to natural, earth-based pigments ~ ochres, umbers, saffron, indigo… 

 

The following process photos show the evolution of this painting. The captions are pulled from Chris’s initial email…but you can find a beautiful rendition of The Herbfarm’s history on their website.

The original owners, Carrie Van Dyck and Ron Zimmerman, started this restaurant in a plant nursery; Memorial Day 1986. 

 

 
It was built from the ground up…

…

 

The restaurant flourished…

 
…receiving national recognition and a dedicated cult following within a decade. 

 

 

 

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The Paths We Travel

Exhibition, family, Gallery, Narrative, Origin story, Story

Artist Statement

As a kid, I found it comforting to think about how wildly the universe had to conspire just so I could be here. I would lie in bed and think about all the serendipitous moments that had to happen just so my Tanzanian father and South Korean mother could meet, halfway around the world, and have me. I would think about the epic stories of love, betrayal, sacrifice, migration, survival ~ all the random encounters and deliberate life choices extending back generations that had to happen just so my parents could meet and have me.

And as I got older, made friends and met their families, I realized that everyone has stories that are epic in scope ~ even if their families have lived in the same town for generations.

Every one of us is the embodiment of the life stories of our parents, our grandparents, our ancestors. We carry their stories forward with us, whether we’re conscious of them or not. But make no mistake ~ we are all here because of these stories.

Making art is how I make sense of these stories I’ve inherited about who I am and where I come from…and the stories I’m now passing down. As a mother, I feel compelled to think about where I stand in this flow of cultural inheritance and legacy. These paintings reflect the internal and external landscapes that have been traversed just to reach this point where our paths could cross in this gallery, in this city, at this moment in time…

Currently on exhibit at
Columbia City Gallery (Seattle)
through Jan. 5, 2020.