Bamboo Sketches
by Charity Lee Jennings
Cowherd and The Weaver Girl – Chinese Valentine’s Day
Tens of thousands of couples chose sacred seven as their wedding date. Going back a decade, wedding website The Knot usually had around 12,000 couples registered and preparing to unite on any given Saturday in July, but leading up to 7/7/07, there was triple the...
Mandarin Minute – #1 Hello
Grandma’s Smile
Grandma's Gallery - drawn at age 84 "People think I traced," grandma said with a chuckle as she showed me her newest collection of artwork, "but I drew these myself." -------- “I’m 84 years old and I can touch my toes.” As my grandma spoke these words, she...
Hope In The Midst Of Trial
I just finished drawing Church In The Mountains when grandma passed. The beacon of faith beckoned me and I wondered if I had drawn it for her but it didn’t quite fit. Church, yes, mountains, no. As I thought about it, I wanted to create something that would represent...
Just Like My Grandma
“Grandma had a minor stroke, but she’s recovering,” read the first message. She’ll get better, I thought. I know my grandma. “Grandma is having a hard time eating and speaking,” the next message read, “but she’s out of the critical period. Baby steps in forward...
My Art Gallery
I long for peace - that longing is what keeps me picking up my sketch book. Stepping away from demands and drawing brings that serenity that so often seems out of reach. I hope you can enjoy a bit of peace too as you watch the slideshow below. You can also view it by...
Church In The Mountains
Scrolling through pictures of our last trip to Canada for my Canada Day post, I was drawn to a little church in the mountains. Here's my drawing that celebrates this beacon of faith.
Canada Day Surprise!
As predicted, Canada Day was special. No parade, no fireworks, but my kids weren’t expecting those.
They begged me to play Canada-opoly – a game without an end. The snacks were endless too, thanks to a friend… (click the title to read more)
So, Today Is Canada’s Birthday?
“So, today is Canada Day?” my daughter asked. “Um hum,” I said, looking and the clock and calculating. It’s July 1st here, but ten p.m., on June 30th in Ontario. “And Canada is 150 years old?” Excitement built with each word. “Yeah.” I wanted to join in her excitement...
Want A Beautiful Smile, China Style?
What? You wanted privacy? Not only could I see this girl getting her teeth worked on, as I walked by, but a screen caught my eye. It displayed a close-up of her molars! Thanks for the invite Noble Beauty Dental Clinic, but I'll wait 'til we return to Canada to...
Culture Snapshot – A Dragon’s Welcome
I’ve never seen a dragon boat race but I’ve joined many Chinese people in eating zongzi, a rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves, to remember the life of one of China’s greatest poets and scholars, Qu Yuan. Human nature hasn’t changed since the 3rd century BC. Qu...
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...