Art Class （上艺术课）

(Mr. and Mrs. Hu, in their apartment after looking at Mr. Hu's art)

(the painting he gave me)

(a hillside painting he did, this is traditional Chinese painting by the way)

(one of his scrolls, still not fully unrolled)

(painting table)

(coffee, art pens, sketchbook, and pencil! the greatest tools! this is what I was working on during the class)

(classroom)

(students sketching in the classroom)

Finally! Art! Last night I accompanied my Chinese friend Zhaozhao (赵曌）to art class! I was very excited because I didn't know what to expect of a Chinese art class. But as it turns out the atmosphere is very much the same as the art classes I have taken in America. The teacher walks around and takes a look at every one's work, gives them suggestions, and then moves on to the next person. This art class was held in a greenhouse/makeshift classroom on a rooftop garden. Naturally this is a night class, because most Chinese students don't have much daytime to spare for art. What with outside school math class, English class, and sleep...

Only four teenagers attended (including my friend Zhaozhao and me), the rest were elementary school students and middle school students. It was quite, and I liked that.

Presiding over the class were two teachers, a middle aged married couple. As soon as I walked in to the greenhouse/makeshift classroom Mrs. Hu, the teacher, yelled to me (in Chinese) "Wow! You're a lot more handsome than I thought you'd be! So handsome! Kids look at how cool he is!" I knew right off the bat that I would like this class.

The Saturday evening class focuses on sketching, while the Sunday morning class focuses on Chinese traditional painting (国画).

After the class was over Mr. Hu decided to take me, and a few other students downstairs to his apartment to show off his art. His amazing art! Waah, he is such a good artist! Almost all of his art is traditional Chinese painting (which I have taken a liking to), calligraphy, and photography. He pulled out numerous paintings and scrolls of his work. I was speechless. So many beautiful pieces of art! His wife, Mrs. Hu, said "He draws the whole day, it would take a lifetime to see everything he has drawn!"

In the end he gave me a painting! I was so grateful! Not that he doesn't have enough paintings, but still! In a few days I will have the painting put in scroll-like format so it is easier to take back to America. Zhaozhao said she would steal the painting.

This viewing of his artwork was a very special occasion because never before had he shown his students his work. He said the reason why he did it was because he could tell how much I appreciated Chinese culture, and art. That made me very happy!

Next week I will go back for more lessons!