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Hi,Dear Friends
How are you?
Time is flying; 12 days have passed in 2025, and I am still on my 12th American trip in Springfield, MO. In these past 12 days, what impressed me most was experiencing snow twice, which is a rare occurrence for me because I have been living in Shenzhen, one of China's four first-tier cities, located next to Hong Kong and by the South China Sea, where there is no winter or snow, but it remains evergreen all year round. Therefore, snow is indeed fresh for me, and I was impressed by my students' enthusiasm for learning Chinese arts even in that harsh weather caused by the snow.
The fifth event of our Cross-cultural and Comprehensive Art Workshop at the Springfield Chinese Church was held on  January 4, 2025, just the day before the first snow in Springfield. The weather was terrible, with strong winds and rain, so I had guessed that many students might be absent. However, when I arrived at the classroom, more and more people came in, and not a single child was missing.
Then, on Friday, Jan 10, another heavy snowstorm hit the city; everything was covered by about 20 cm of snow. When I was clearing the deep snow around my house in the afternoon, I thought that maybe fewer people would come to the church and our workshop might be canceled the next day since the second workshop's participants had already asked to stop their lesson once on Friday.
That night, Mrs. Shirley Zhou, who had been an assistant to the pastor and one of the workshop leaders, asked me if we would continue with our lesson. I replied that if the church were operating normally, I would conduct the lesson as usual.
On Saturday, January 11, Miss Ge Yidan, a young instructor at Missouri State University and an active participant in the workshop, picked me up earlier than usual and took me to the church classroom. Can you imagine? Despite the terrible weather and road conditions (although most major streets were cleared, residential areas were still covered with thick snow and ice, making driving very dangerous), 11 adults and 4 children made it to the classroom! This included an elderly lady over 80 years old and two six-year-old children.
Once more, I was touched by both their enthusiasm for learning and the charm of Chinese culture. This also gave me  a new understanding of why the U.S. could be number one in the world.
Despite the terrible weather and road conditions (although most major streets were cleared, residential areas were still covered with thick snow and ice, making driving very dangerous), 11 adults and 4 children made it to the classroom! This included an elderly lady over 80 years old and two six-year-old children, also some American- Malaysian.
Once more, I was moved by both their study enthusiasm and the charm of Chinese culture. Additionally, it provided me with a new perspective on why the U.S. holds its position as a global leader.
 Meanwhile, due to two snowfalls during the 12 days, I also adjusted my teaching content twice.
Firstly, I changed my teaching content from water lily to winter sweet flower because of the first snow. I wanted my students to realize how resilient the winter sweet flower is and learn from its uniqueness, blooming as a messenger of spring.
Secondly, I changed my teaching content from plum blossoms in place of water lily again due to the second snow. I wanted my students to learn to paint plum blossoms in the flying snow and understand why the plum blossom can be ranked first among the ¡°Four Gentlemen in Flowers¡± and is one of the most important subjects in Chinese literati painting.
Although I felt physically tired because I had no time to sit down during my lessons, and almost every lesson lasted about or over 3 hours since the students couldn¡¯t finish their tasks at the same pace, when I saw their work, I was quite delighted. I am glad to see their obvious progress, and it is a great opportunity for me to extend my ¡°Cross-cultural and Comprehensive Art¡± into a new field through extensive study and research.
I mean that while working with beginners, such as participants in the Chinese Church Workshop, I pay more attention to developing teaching methods suitable for them. However, during the second workshop, facing the group of participants who have long time western art educational background and most of them have a PHD or someone themselves are art instructors, I devoted more time and energy not only  to refining my teaching style but also to exploring art research topics. For example, when teaching the participants in the second workshop how to paint a Chinese Baimiao painting, I attempted to create a ¡°Baimiao Painting Project¡± that includes its origins, evolution, representative artists from different dynasties, the eighteen Baimiao styles and their representative works with various artistic styles, along with their relationships and try to do something with much more academic and application value for my students.
I mean that while working with beginners, such as participants in the Chinese Church Workshop, I pay more attention to developing teaching methods suitable for them.
 However, during the second workshop, facing a group of participants with long-term Western art educational backgrounds, most of whom have PhDs or are themselves art instructors, I devoted more time and energy not only to refining my teaching style but also to exploring art research topics. For example, when teaching the participants in the second workshop how to paint a Chinese Baimiao painting, I attempted to create a ¡°Baimiao Painting Project¡± that includes its origins, evolution, representative artists from different dynasties, the eighteen Baimiao styles and their representative works with various artistic styles, along with their relationships, aiming to provide something with much more academic and practical value for my students.
However, during the second workshop, facing a group of participants with long-term Western art educational  backgrounds, most of whom have PhDs or are themselves art instructors, I devoted more time and energy not only to refining my teaching style but also to exploring art research topics. For example, when teaching the participants in the second workshop how to paint a Chinese Baimiao painting, I attempted to create a ¡°Baimiao Painting Project¡± that includes its origins, evolution, representative artists from different dynasties, the eighteen Baimiao styles and their representative works with various artistic styles, as well as their relationships, aiming to provide a resource with greater academic and practical value for my students.
On practice, I do not ask this group of participants to focus on quantity but on quality. They should not paint a  Baimiao painting just once but many times until their lines and paintings can reach, or at least approach, a level where they can be colored.
I am sure that after the two workshops are completed, I will gain unique teaching methods and some specialized art research topics, and be able to continue working on my cross-cultural and interdisciplinary art papers.
How about you?
Do you have anything special to share?
Notes:
 Photo 1: Participants of the Second Art Workshop and I completed our second session on Friday, January 3, 2025.
Photo 2: The participants of the First Art Workshop were reciting and singing a Chinese poem before painting at the Springfield Chinese Church on Saturday, January 4, 2025.
Photo 3: 1) Dr. Qiao Yuhua, a lifetime professor of Missouri State University, led her mother (in the red clothes) and son to join us on January 11, 2024.
2) Participants of the First Art Workshop were painting their 7th Chinese painting and 3rd Xieyi painting on January 11, 2024.
3) These children, who are 6, 10, and 13 years old, were working on January 11, 2024.
Photo 4: The participants of the first workshop worked on their 6th Chinese painting and the 2nd Xieyi painting, and everyone did an excellent job.
Photo 5: One of my six-year-old Chinese-American students was delighted to complete her first Chinese Xieyi painting on January 11, 2025.
Photo 6: One of my ten-year-old Chinese-American students completed her 7th Chinese painting and her 3rd Chinese  Xieyi painting on January 11, 2025.
Photo 7: One of my six-year-old Chinese-American students completed her seventh Chinese painting and her third Chinese Xieyi painting on January 11, 2025.
Photo 8: One of my eight-year-old Chinese-American students completed his 6th Chinese painting and his 2nd Chinese Xieyi painting on January 4, 2025.
Photo 9: One of my six-year-old Chinese-American students completed his 6th Chinese painting and his 2nd Chinese Xieyi painting on January 11, 2025.
Photo 10: This is the 7th Chinese painting and 3rd Chinese Xieyi painting by the Pastor of the Springfield Chinese  Church in Missouri, USA.
Photo 11: This is the 3rd Chinese painting and first Chinese Xieyi painting by Malaysian-American Mrs. Yan.
Photo 12: This is the 6th Chinese Painting and 3rd Xieyi painting by a Chinese-American girl, Miss Ma Yixuan on Jan 11, 2025
Photo 13: This is the third Chinese painting and the first Chinese Xieyi painting by a Malaysian-American, Mrs. Yan.
Photo 14: This is the 4th Chinese painting and the 2nd Chinese Xieyi painting by a Chinese-American, Mr. Zhu Xinyuan.
Photo 15: This is the first Chinese painting by a young Chinese-American university student, San Bao.
Photo 16: This is the first Chinese Xieyi painting by a Chinese-American lady, Mrs. Chang.
 Photo 17: This is the 7th Chinese painting and 3rd Chinese Xieyi Painting by a young Chinese-American Instructor in Missouri State University, Miss Ge Yidan on Jan 11, 2025.
Photo 18: The participants of the Second Workshop completed their first Chinese Baimiao paintings on December 27, 2024, and were working on the 2nd one on January 3, 2025.
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