How are you? Have you had a good new week and a wonderful Valentine's Day? I do hope you have and I really wish that all of the lovers in the world finally get married.

Since I wrote to you last time, 16 days have past.

As a traveler with a cross-cultural and comprehensive art dreamer in the USA, I worked hard on my new book and English learning in a worrying mood and a big pressure until Feb 9, 2017, the good news that both of the Presidents of America and China had a good communication by letters and talking on a phone call on the Chinese Lantern Festival. My heart which
had been "suspended in the air" just came back into my chest. :-)

With a relaxed heart, many smiles and confidence in American advanced country system and the good relationship between America and China, instead of preparing retreat and going back home "tomorrow" as I often thought before, I decided to continue to seek my little cross-cultural and comprehensive art dream for exploring and founding a business model in the US at the first, and then to extend it into wider and bigger areas in the world with my American work partners together...

So, in the past 16 days, during whole of the Chinese New Year's Holliday, every day I worked for more than 15 hours and sometimes for 24 hours. Finally, I handed in the added parts of my new book to the publishing house on Feb 12, 2017 (American time).

The volume II of Together With Me, Learn Chinese Culture and Language by Enjoying and Practicing Painting, Music and Poetry (Poetry, Painting, Music: Comprehensive and Artistic Chinese) keeps the original main boy with a vocal, bilingual poetry and painting series and added a cultural background series and a contemporary Chinese painting series.

The Highlight of this publication is the 50 paintings in the last series were created by 6 of my art professors from Chinese National Academy of Arts and China Central Academy of Fine Arts. Include a Supervisor of Candidates for Doctoral Degrees and 5 Supervisors for Candidates for Master Degrees, and 3 of Chinese poem songs were sung by my music professor.

All of them have their own special invents and are the academic leaders in their fields.

What I am pursuing is to improve the level of this publication series, to share something classical in both ancient and contemporary times of China. Base on the second publication, as soon as I handed the second publication, I am thinking of how to improve the third volume...

With this letter, I have attached something about this publication and hope to bring you a big smile. As far as the detail and the introductions about my professors and their art works and music, they will be published in March or April, 2017.

During worked on my publication on Chinese Culture and Language with a Chinese University Publishing House, I have also connected some American publishing houses for my another series on American Culture with Chinese art style.

Meanwhile, besides attending the wonderful English lesson at OTC, every day, I kept listening to VOA English on the way to school. And as soon as I bought a new Chinese cell phone, I have recovered my daily vocal exercises during a shower and breakfast cooking time. Now I do hope that I can go back to my Chinese Painting Study in the afternoon and night since I have handed in the book.

I do hope my little cross-cultural and comprehensive art will be able to develop forward by opening a creative course in an American college...

Anyway, now, I am not in a hurry, after all, to open or to create a new “carrier” is a serious job and need for a long long time, maybe for whole of our life. Do you think so?

A good news is that my supervisor for my study for MFA -- Professor Mu Jiashan at Chinese National Academy of Arts in Beijing, who was a professor in the USA for 18 years has made a big effort to arrange my upcoming 2.5 years’ study, no matter I go back to China, travel in the US or go to Australia, he can keep directing my work…

How about you? Do you have anything special to share in the past 2 weeks?

Photo Notes:

No.1,No.6 and No 8: A good friend who has given me a lot of help since 2009 and organized 22 lessons for me to share Chinese poems with I myself created music and Chinese paintings with her students, recommended me to 2 art organizations and 3 K-12 schools -- Mrs. Wanda Nava and her husband who worked in a church came to see me. When she saw a Bible on my table, she could not help giving me a lesson for 3 hours, so that I could not help asking her to choose some of my Chinese ink paintings for them as a memory...

No. 2. A good friend Ms. Carrissa Garran and a parent of my former student, she is my “Rescuer” who “saved” me many times, this time, it was her to “ rescue” me after I went to 3 stores and it was she who called Bestbuy and then picked up me at the third store and took me to Bestbuy to buy a wonderful new cell phone.

No.3. Dr. Jassica who was my referee of OTC in 2010, 2013, and 2016. It was she introduced me to her school and organized three events for both of her students and I.

No.4. A kind and patient clerk of Bestbuy helped me choose and fix a new cell phone.

No.5. Mrs.Sherri and Mr.Jason Merkling kept coming to give a Bible Course in their travel.

No.7. My young neighbor Brian is learning a Chinese poem seriously...

How about you? Do you have anything special to share in the past 2 weeks?I am just a student on Arts of Painting, Music, English and Management, to work on the web site in my free time. I would really like to do somethings with what I have learned to make this little web site to be an Electronic Bridge of Cross - Culture and Comprehensive Arts, Language & Friendship. To help the others and this world while improving myself and realizing my own value of life.

I would really 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.

Sincerely,

Shirley Yiping Zhang
Feb 15, 2017 (American Time)