A Snowy Scene

A Snowy Scene

I pulled the camera from the pocket of my winter coat and took a picture of the two boys in the seat of the bus behind me, as they threw themselves into a pose. Then I tucked the camera away. It was the first time my mom had let me take it and I was eager to capture...
Captured Treasure

Captured Treasure

I felt an urgency to capture this scene. In the shifting sand of Chinese culture, there’s a stretch between the lifestyles of young men and their grandfathers and I wonder how long this pastime will last.  I arrived in time to see an elderly man lean his bicycle...
The Bank Teller’s Chops

The Bank Teller’s Chops

The woman behind me paced and ranted. “Tai man le, zhe ge lao wai.” I didn’t like it any more than she did. When I started this sketch I thought I was racing against time – five minutes, maybe ten to capture this display of chops, but over an hour later, when I...

Oriental Garden

Living in China, I’ve grown to adore oriental gardens. This spring I made it my goal to walk through the gardens in our community daily and many times I passed a little scene thinking, I would love to draw that. Some days I set out with the intention of capturing such...
Water’s Out

Water’s Out

How many days can I go without a shower?  I ask myself this as I fill pots with water, and arrange them on the counter, creating a strange sort of art. I have twenty more minutes. When Brian got the message last night, we got the boys filling buckets then I took...
Revolving Restaurants

Revolving Restaurants

Dumplings for lunch became a pleasant part of our lives, as did interactions with the dumpling makers. One day, low on groceries, my son and I again took the horseshoe walk to the bao zi shop, but instead of steaming dumplings we found a lock and chains. We peered...