Happy Valentine's Day! I do hope that you and yours have a good weekend while enjoy your Valentine's Day.

Maybe you would like to ask how Shirley spends your Valentine's Day? My answer is that I will be with my Lover -- Shirley Created Combined Art together. :-)

September, 2009, during my first art exhibition were going on in Springfield, MO USA by the good and friendly Sponsoring of Springfield Region Art Council and Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce of Commerce, during I had 14 or 16 demonstrations and workshops for hundreds children, students and adults in two universities, 6 public schools and 1 art center, I was touched so much by the passion of American people for Chinese art and culture, so that I had an idea to create a special Chinese painting for the friendly local people, especially for the lovely children and young students whom asked me to sing for them after my demonstration and workshops were finished ? let the paintings be able to exhibit with voice in bilingualism, to offer them a small Chinese culture portfolio via a little paining with Poem + Calligraphy + Painting + Stamp + Language (English and Chinese) + Literature + Music + Singing (in English and Chinese), if people like, they can also follow me to read the poem and new words in the paintings in Chinese, listen to my created music and singings for them, to learn Chinese culture and language in enjoyment naturally. With this idea, I went to NYC in Oct, 2009, instead of going to any scenic spot for tourists, I spent whole of my time in the art museums. As soon as I came back China, I started my exploration. Unfortunate, something sad happened in my life, delayed my plan, but, I have never given up this dream, even though I was suffering the sharp pain that lost my mother and I myself was on the operated tables once and once.

This week, a young engineer ? Tony C., who is just 4 years older than my son has helped me to make my dream to be sure, from now, all my combined art works will be able to realize the functions over.

The left problem that I will resolve is how to improve the quality of my English relatives to the combined art works.

So, if you are interested in the art of Chinese painting, music, language and would like to learn Chinese culture and be a bridge of Western and Eastern cultures exchange; if you are confident with me and what I am working and exploring; if you are a native English speaker or be majoring in English and work in English right now, you are welcome to be my English tutor and work partner, to help me to correct what I have written or edited. To do something that you think you can do with your wisdom and ability.

At this time, you will be a volunteer as my work partners and I have been for 9 years. Latter, your name will be showed on the web site or be in some publications, rely on your role and wish. Your work will be returned via some styles some day.

Another piece of good news is that after the three surgeries, good treatment by 3 hospitals and many doctors and nurses for 6 months, my healthy check-up report shows that some very important indexes are tending normal or near normal.

-- My liver has had some weak antibodies from having no any antibody;
-- My erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) has become 27 from 109 (the normal is 0 -20);
-- Another important index has been reduced to be 1.06 from the terrible 404 (the normal is 1).

Even though there are still a lot of indexes in the abnormal areas, few of them are not very optimistic so that the doctors arranged me to inject antibody continuously, to take 9 kinds of medicine each day, I am confident with myself and I do want to create a wonder, to overcome some disease that cannot be cured totally according to the current medicine theory.

With a grateful heart to my doctors, bosses, friends and family members, I took up my brushes that I had not touched for 3 weeks, to create a new painting. Even though my hands were rusty and I did not feel that my painting tools - the paper, colors, brushes and everything handy at all, I completed it in the inter space during I went to hospitals...

Compare with the other paintings, I felt it is a little bit sick no matter the color or the flowers’ features, and lack the vitality-- a little bit like myself. :-) Do you know? Since I saw the good news of in my health chek-up report, I have been feeling so sleepy that I can get sleepy in any place at any time. :- )

So, I do hope that you do not feel the painting too bad and hope to bring you a small smile. :-)

How about you? Do you have anything special this week? Would you like to be my English tutor or work partner as a volunteer?

I am just a student on Art of Painting, Music, English and Management, to work on the web site in my free time. I would really like to do a few things with what I have learned to make this little web site to be an Electronic Bridge of Inter-Art & Cross - Culture Exchange, Chinese Language Learning & Friendship Making. To help the others while to improve myself.

I would like to appreciate you for your understanding, directions, supports and help.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, you are welcome to write to shirley@ebridge.cn or leave your message on Message Board.

Shirley Yiping Zhang
Feb 14, 2011