by Charity Lee Jennings | Jan 2, 2019
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...
by Charity Lee Jennings | Nov 14, 2018
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...
by Charity Lee Jennings | Oct 16, 2018
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...
by Charity Lee Jennings | Jun 14, 2018
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...
by Charity Lee Jennings | Nov 8, 2017
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...
by Charity Lee Jennings | Jun 8, 2017
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...