Bamboo Sketches
by Charity Lee Jennings
Mandarin Minute #3 – Numbers 6-10
Did you count from one to five, with Jia Jia and me, in Mandarin? Now you can learn to count to ten. Thanks for joining us for this Mandarin Minute!
Ancient Place
I sat outside this historic home, the scurry of the city surrounding me, and sketched. The door opened and a young man approached. “Do you live here?” I said. “I take care of the place – it’s over a century old.” He watched me for a while then returned to the door....
Family Fear Factor
A Younger, Braver Me, At The Wet-Market “I’ve got one,” Brian said, as he pulled a deep-fried worm from the gooey rice and let it dangle over his open mouth. It was our Family Fear Factor, during my parents’ and siblings’ first visit to China. “Do it!”...
Ghost Festival
Walking by the canal, a fire catches my eye. At first sight one might think the sweet-looking elderly couple is enjoying a bonfire. But as my walk down the canal leads me closer, I know they are worshipping their ancestors. The seventh month of the lunar...
Little Sprout So Grown Up
I thought it was just a drawing - it was more. The aloe plant I sketched belonged to my teenaged son and drawing it drew him to me. He doesn’t beg my attention. Like me, he always has a project on the go. Like me, he’s always looking for a chance to escape and...
Healing Aloe
I loved drawing the roots of this aloe plant twisting and winding their way into the water, lazily offering support. Drawing this healing plant brought me a healing moment. Peace, quiet, reflection. This week, have you offered yourself a healing moment? If not...
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...