Today we’d like to introduce you to Eileen Oda Leaf.
Hi Eileen Oda, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I graduated with honors ahead of my Venice High School class and my Japanese American parents who had been interned in concentration camps during WWII could not afford to send me to art school or college, I have worked as a salesperson, hotel desk clerk, library assistant, fisherwoman, sold real estate and ultimately was able to attend college decades later as an older adult.
Years after the multiple myeloma cancer diagnosis I met my husband in 2012, who is now a retired physician who encouraged me to show my art publicly and gifted a set of oil paints and canvases to do so. Until then, I could not afford to buy them and had been creating drawings using graphite and colored pencils on paper for decades.
2016 began with showing my art on social media, donating art curated into the permanent collections at UCLA Medical Center, the WLA VA Hospital and the Center for Cancer Treatment and Prevention at St Joseph Hospital. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s art curator also accepted art which is the place where I receive cancer care.
The Center for Cancer Prevention and Treatment at St Joseph Hospital asked me to be a guest speaker and instructor for for an wellness and arts program and received a grant from the California Arts Council and the Center for Arts & Disabilities.
The City of Los Angeles awarded an official commendation for art contributions to promote the building of the Los Angeles Environmental Learning Center in Playa del Rey, CA.
The Pasadena Society of Artists former president challenged members to create art none of its members would guess was yours and this is how a method of 3-D oil painting on hand-cut canvas/es was born. I coined this method “exsculpainting” creating food, landscape and portraiture utilizing an innovative style of painting on canvas.
A dream would be to see my art in a permanent collection of a museum as that would be a happy ending to this miraculous journey.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In 1993 I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma an incurable blood cancer that affects the skeletal system and was told I would require chemotherapy, radiation treatments, a hip replacement and a stem cell transplant to potentially prolong and offer a better quality of life.
With a prognosis of five years to live I decided to not have a hip replacement and see if my body could heal itself with conservative management which entailed using crutches and a cane for one and a half years. I had radiation treatments but my oncologist thought I could be watched to see if the cancer progressed as it had been confined to one lesion in my hip. This decision proved correct so I did not have chemotherapy or a stem cell transplant.
32 years later I have beaten the odds and have been creating and showing art publicly for the last eight years. My doctor says it’s a miracle.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have created art since childhood using graphite pencil and colored pencils for decades. My Japanese American parents were interned at concentration camps during WWII and could not afford to send me to art school or college so I held jobs as a salesperson, library assistant, fisherwoman in Kona, Hawaii, hotel desk clerk and realtor.
In 2016 my husband gifted me with a set of oil paint and canvases and that’s when oil painting began. The art evolved from figural studies, landscapes, night life and street scenes. In 2017, the Pasadena Society of Artists’ President challenged us to create something that none its members would recognize as yours. A process of oil painting coined “exsculpainting.” took hold. That’s 3-D oil painting on hand-cut canvas/es, sometimes underneath or on the backside.
Wanting to showcase this exciting style of oil painting I applied for a California Arts Council and a California Art and Disability Center grant. The award allowed an introduction to exsculpainting publicly through a large scale 6’x9’x5″ presentation of The Grand Oak at the CA 101 Art Exhibition.
Exsculpainting has been made into landscape paintings, food art, whimsical moving sculptural pieces set on coiled wiring that can allow the wind to carry movement to pieces like a nest with eggs, a forest log sprinkled with intricately cut , painted leaves
gingko leaves that morph into threatened coastal blue butterflies to everyday foods largely inspired by my mother who was a great cook and baker.
Because of my early experience of mortality facing cancer, I subconsciously gravitate to creating art that instills positivity, light, a deep reverence for nature and beauty. My desire is to make art that people will be moved in a way that resonates in a heartfelt, moving yet also light and as airy-magical as the is the gift of life.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
If you put your heart and soul into what you love and create something from that place people will feel it. No matter what happens keep doing this because it’s about the journey and we learn from it. Staying true to yourself and what makes creating art wonderful, vibrant and real is the most important lesson I have learned. This energy, this passion, comes in a synergistic flow from your soul that connects with others and when it does that is a measure of success.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eileenodafineart/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/Eileen-Oda-Fine-Art-1637832096470129
- Other: [email protected]
