How are you? Have you started a good new week? I do hope you have.

On my side, by the good help and support of my designer, printers, my brother and his companies in Jiangsu Province, China, the first 50 copies of my new albums includes 270 photos, 110 of my paintings, 12 of my articles, had been in my hands last Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 and another 50 copies have come this morning, Feb 27, 2014. There are some mistakes inside for we worked on the two sides of the Ocean just for 3 weeks, but, I will have a new album to support the new art exhibition at Ozarks Technical Community College in Feb, 2014. I do feel my heart is steady.

At the same time, by the good help and support from the Jinan University Publishing Press in Guangzhou and my work partner in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province of China, another 40 copies of my new books and DVDs have been on the road from China to the USA.

The print cost of the new album there are 106 pages in it was quite high and the delivering cost is a little bit terrible, since I want to do my best to support the art exhibition and I want my readers to know more about my cross-culture and comprehensive, it is worth to do.

I am lucky enough for I have gotten so much good support from my family members, friends, work partners and my motherland.

Do you know? A Vice Editor in Chief from one of the biggest media of China has expressed that they would like to publish a piece of news for my art exhibition in the USA as well.

With a grateful heart, as soon as I took the new album, I went to see Mrs. Kethy Yan who has been looking after my daily mails and she would like to offer a room for me to paint in her restaurant; I went to the Springfield Assembly Chinese Church, to thank the God and his angels: Pastor Cheuk, his wife and all of the sisters and brothers at the church; I went to see Dr. Wenping Qiu, his Wife at the Campus Chinese Baptist Church, to thank them for their good lead and help as the messengers of the God…

I will also send them to those friends who have helped me in the past 5 years, especially recently the 8 friends who have given me their hands from America, Australia and Britain and corrected my English writing when I was suffering the sharp headache during I was involved in the work of my new album…

In fact, at the most difficult time, except the headache, I could not sit on the chair in the deep night because my waist was ache, but it was the noon in China, if I went to sleep, people in China could not work, so, several times, I put my chair on a short table, then put my computer on the chair, and then to stand to to work...

Even though finally, my work partners in China and I myself could not really correct all my written because we had not gone to sleepy for 5 nights and we had no time to do that for the workers were waiting for completing the printing job and then to went back home for their Chinese New Year vacation, if we were later, there would no one to print for us... My heart is full of the appreciation to the 11 friends who offered actual help or wanted to offer help…

Friday afternoon, by a walk, I went to OTC to meet Mrs. Kat Allie - the Department Chair of Fine Arts and Humanities, and the Fine Art Gallery Manager.

She was the first artist who had given me for about 3 hours at the first time we met each other via a phone call on the post of the Springfield First Friday Art Walk, then she gave me the opportunity to hold an art exhibition at her art gallery of OTC.

There are so many appreciations to her in my heart, not only for she would like to sponsor my art exhibition, but also, and the most important was: as an artist and a dean of department, she has seen the value of my work and my effort with her specially artistic sensibility, and she has given it a precious respect.

By the way, when I met Prof. Carolyn Cardenas -- the Head of Art & Design Department at Missuri State University, I felt the similar artistic sensibility of her and the similar respect from an artist to the other culture and the other's creative work.

Maybe this just is " Like Knows Like. " Right?

For me, the latter is the important more than money and anything else.

With a grateful heart, when she asked me whether I wanted her to pay for my demonstrations or classes or workshops at her college during my art exhibition, I said: “ If you had a fund to support, I would be glad to be paid; if you have no it, then I need not to be paid. Since I have given 101 free classes already, I do not care for the last month's classes free or not indeed. For me, at this time, even though my project needs money to support and to develop, but, the fee for one month would not be able to resolve the root problem. So, what I am caring for now is not money, but how to improve the quality of my art works and the classes. Since the fingers of my hands are edema and one of my arm is numb when I am talking with you. I am not sure when and whether I will be able to come back to Springfield again. So, I do want to give as much as possible to your students and the local People who have treatment so nice. Therefore, except giving free classes to your students, I would also like to give some free opening classes to the Public of Springfield Area.”

I was luck enough that Mrs. Kat Allie enjoyed my idea; and I was touched that she corrected my statement in person and she did much work on choosing my photos, to think of how to do the post and how to arrange my work in Feb.

By her patient help and directions, I am sure, I can do my best during the art exhibition.

So, in February, 2014, I am going to put down all of the other things, but focus myself on giving as many as possible Chinese poetry classes with music and painting together, while to give few different traditional Chinese painting classes. If the condition allows, I am going to carry my music instruments and paintings together into the classroom for my Chinese poetry classes.

As you know, one of my work goals in the upcoming 3 years is to open 2 classes in a university, or a college or a high school.

I am going to start them from Feb, 2014:

-- Traditional Chinese paintings, focus on technique, includes few kinds of Chinese Paintings.
-- Comprehensive & Artistic Chinese : Together with Me, Learn Chinese Culture and Language by Enjoying Painting, Music and Poetry, focus on Classical Chinese Poetry, to : Learn / Teach Modern Chinese in Enjoying Traditional Chinese Poetry and Music

Still feeling the deeply ache in my heart for lacking a strong English support, I will be major in English for another 3 or 4 years somewhere while continue to pursue my cross-culture and comprehensive art dream after I complete my Chinese painting study in Chinese National Academy of Arts in Beijing July, 2014, to resolve the big problem blocks on the road of my creative work, totally.

If you are teaching English or researching something cross-culture and cross-art relates to China in a university or a foreign languages institute in Australia, America or Britain and want to have a student who is working hard in this field via painting, music, poetry and writing in English, maybe I am one of the suitable students?

How about you? Do you have anything special to show?


Shirley Yiping Zhang
Jan 27, 2014