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Hi,Dear Friends
How are you? I hope this message finds you well.
Since I last wrote to you, many things have happened: The first workshop has taken place twice already, and the dates and locations for the other four have been confirmed. In total, during my 12nd American trip, I will be working with at least two churches, one college, one university, and one art guild to hold five art workshops/ shows, totaling 24 sessions over more than 50 hours from December 2024 to March 2025. With much gratitude, I would like to share some of the  experiences that have touched and inspired me.
In Churches: On December 7, 2024, due to the personal leadership and participation of Pastor Philip Cheuck, the significant efforts of Mrs. Shirley Zhou and Dr. Zhu Xinyuan from Springfield Chinese Church， MO, and the kind assistance and support of Mrs. Glad Eyerman—my former work partner and current American Teaching Advisor, and Chinese Art Teaching Assistant during I work with the church, our first "Cross-cultural and Comprehensive Art Workshop" (featuring a combination of poetry, painting, and music for  24 hours) commenced at their church. We have done two sessions for over 5 hours, and most participants completed their first three Chinese paintings by learning from some of the greatest artists in Chinese art history, such as bird painting techniques from Lin Chun and Li Anzhong of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and plum blossom paintings from Wang Mian of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and Chen Lu of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). We also explored aspects of music and some of the most renowned poems from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and Song Dynasty (960-1279) and so on.
During the working process, I was not only moved by people's  enthusiasm for God but also by their focus on the growth of the next generation. For example, every time before we started our workshop, Pastor Cheuck, led us in prayer, thanking God for His care and appreciating what He has brought us, hoping that all participants would study Chinese culture and cultivate a grateful heart... A company boss, Mr. Huang, wanted to purchase the children's artworks to hang them up in the church and encourage them to learn about Chinese culture and arts.
On December 3rd, 2024, Mrs. Faith Eastman, accompanied by her 90-year-old mother who requires 24-hour care, picked me  up to visit their American church. Subsequently, on December 10th, the church leaders decided to organize our "Cross-Cultural and Comprehensive Art Show" on February 2nd.
At College: On December 2nd, 2024, Mrs. Fran Giglio and Mrs. Vicky, who have been my English teachers since 2015, met me at the Adult Education Department of OTC. They provided me with a unique opportunity to improve my oral English in any of their classrooms as a guest, exempt from the standard entrance exam. I am thrilled to once again become a face-to-face student of Mrs. Fran Giglio in her classroom. I deeply value this rare chance to learn English  and American culture, which often inspires me. Just in her wonderful course, I had the idea of creating an American  ]Cultural Map Series using traditional Chinese art techniques in 2016. For pursuing this, I attended the China Modern Gongbi Painting Academy for two years, in addition to my studies at the Chinese National Academy of Arts. Currently, I have gained further inspiration from her American culture course for my new creative projects.
On December 10, Mrs. Linda Whipple, the Director of Adult Education & Literacy at OTC, and Mrs. Fran Giglio spoke with me. They would organize a "Cross-cultural and Comprehensive  Art Workshop" with me from January to February 2025.
I was deeply moved because not only did Mrs. Linda decide to organize this project, but she also plans to support it by individually purchasing colors for her students. Mrs. Fran Giglio not only recommended me to her supervisor but also took care of everything for the project, from booking art supplies online to helping correct my spoken English.
Through my initial conversation with Mrs. Linda Whipple and the ongoing interactions with Mrs. Fran Giglio and Mrs. Vicky, I have gained insight into the dedication and passion of these American educators towards their careers and their commitment to their students. This has also given me a  glimpse into why American education holds such a prominent position globally.
In University: On December 3, 2024, Dr. Weirong Y. Schaefer, the Asian Arts and Letters Coordinator at Missouri State University and I had a talking for 4 hours. What made me happiest was that she said, "Your Chinese artworks have shocked me and changed my past thoughts about Chinese painting." She also mentioned, "I really want to learn Chinese painting from you now." Then, on December 6, 2024, she informed me that she had organized a group of local artists and students to learn Chinese painting from me every Friday starting from December 20, 2024, for a total of 20 hours.
 Also, I have been invited to give a workshop at the Chinese New Year celebration activity of Missouri State University.
Honestly, if these words came from a Native American, I wouldn’t find them strange, but they were from Dr. Yan—an American Chinese in charge of a university’s Chinese and Japanese language teaching and Asian arts and culture programs, who is also one of the witnesses and has seen my art studies since she first saw my creations at Missouri State University’s Student Union in 2010, and again at OTC in 2014. Now, in 2024 … listening to her words, my heart was filled with gratitude toward the 67 Chinese painting professors who had taught me face-to-face at both the Chinese National Academy of Arts and the China Central  Academy of Fine Arts, and also 9 professors and teachers at the China Modern Gongbi Painting Academy … Especially, Mr. Charlie K, who was my first American art teacher and led me to retake up my painting brushes from 2000 to 2007; Prof. Tao Hui, who was my first Chinese painting teacher from 2003 to 2009; Prof. Chen Ping, who taught me the relationship between poetry and Chinese painting and personally guided me in tuning my music in 2010; Prof. Man Weiqi and his team, who taught me from 2011 to 2015 and then he continued to guide my creation online until his passing in 2022; my supervisor, Prof. Mu Jiashan, who taught me from 2014 to 2021; Prof. Wang Tiansheng and  his team, who taught me from 2022 to 2024... Without their excellent teaching and rigorous training, there would not be my today.
A good piece of news is that I have been invited to give an art workshop at the 2025 Chinese New Year celebration event of Missouri State University.
In My House: On November 30, 2024, the controller for my air-conditioning and furnace stopped functioning and causing the temperature in my house to drop to 54°F in the evening. My first agent, Mr. John Walker, guided me to adjust the controller via cell phone, but it did not work. He then called his friend, Mr. Jimson, who lives near my house to check if the battery was the issue. It turned out the problem was not with the battery, and he discovered that  the furnace had turned off. There was no way to fix it that evening around 8:00 pm. So, he went back home and brought a heater for me to help me through the cold night.
Then, on the second morning, both elder gentlemen came to my house to check the furnace once more, and Mr. John Walker called an air-conditioning company. Then Mr. Jeff came to my house, turned on the furnace, and installed a new controller for my air conditioning. My house recovered warmth after the furnace had been out of service for about 20 hours, at around 2:30 PM.
To be honest, if I say that I felt sorry for calling Mr. John Walker at about 7:30pm, then I feel doubly sorry and  deeply moved when I saw 82-year-old Mr. Johnson leave my gate to bring his heater for me and return through my gate twice in the strong wind in the evening. I truly felt the kindness and golden hearts of the local American people...
On December 6, 2024, Mrs. Glad Eyerman and her husband knew that some branches of a tree in my yard had fallen onto my roof, and it seemed they might have damaged the ridge of my house. Worried about water leaking into my house, they came to check my roof by opening the door in the attic to examine the inside of my roof and room. To our relief, my house was fine and no water had leaked in yet.
Then one of my best friends, Mrs. Qingqing Yan who is the boss of a restaurant recommended me a good company…
On December 16, 2024, the Tree Trim Company came to my house and cut down all of the branches that might fall on my house, removing the potential danger.
To be honest, when I wrote this, I couldn't help but think about how just today I met two “one-word/two-word English Teachers (taxi drivers)” who kindly taught and corrected my pronunciation of “grocery,” “garage,” and “commerce.” I can’t also help but use the words of my English Teacher, Mrs. Fran Giglio, when she introduced me to the other students: "America may be Shirley’s third hometown." to conclude this letter to you.
Yes, over time, every time I return to Springfield, MO, I do feel as if I have returned home.
 How about you? Do you have anything special to share?
Notes:
Photo 01 - Mrs. Glad Eyerman and I in the classroom of the church.
Photo 02 - Mrs. Fran Giglio was teaching at OTC.
Photo 03 - Mrs. Linda Whipple, Mrs. Fran Giglio, and I at OTC.
Photo 04 - I was sharing something about the plum blossom in Chinese art history.
Photo 05 - A group of adults were learning about Chinese painting's lines.
Photo 06 - Mrs. Glad Eyerman was tutoring a group of children.
Photo 07 - This 6-year-old girl partly completed her third Chinese painting.
Photo 08 - This 6-year-old girl completed her third Chinese painting.
Photo 09 - This 8-year-old boy completed his first Chinese painting.
Photo 10 - This 10-year-old girl completed her first Chinese painting.
Photo 11 - This is Mrs. Zhang Chen's first Chinese painting. Photo 12 - This is an adult woman's first Chinese painting. Photo 13 - This is Mrs. Zhou Yujia's first Chinese painting. Photo 14 - This is Miss Yidan's first Chinese painting. Photo 15 - This is Pastor Chuck's third Chinese painting. Photo 16 - This is an adult woman, Xuan Xuan's, third Chinese painting.
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