Glenna Tsang
I am Glenna Tsang and I have always been an artist. Of course I followed the path of practicality and got my education in teaching so I could travel. I taught for five years in a private school in Bellevue and then when my daughter was five I moved with my family to a coastal town in China near Qingdao. I had two more children there and loved being in a place that challenged ideas of what we need as a family. We lived simply, riding bikes instead of driving cars, and shopped in outdoor markets instead of grocery stores. We rode horses through Xingjiang instead of the Grand Canyon. We went to Thailand, Cambodia, and Korea instead of Hawaii. We ate noodles and dumplings instead of bread, until we learned to make our own. We taught locals how to make pizza and drink coffee. We learned to love tea. And just as we are still telling their stories, we hope they are still telling our story.
One of the images I find repeatedly in my sketchbook is the traditional style homes, being overshadowed by skyscrapers. In a newly developing city, it was a common sight. It’s a bittersweet memory now as I turn the pages and wonder how many of the homes I sketched are still standing. Even the old man on the corner playing the er-hu, is he still alive? Does he know his smile is kept in a sketchbook -representing his people a world away?
This is the beauty of keeping a sketchbook whether you are a “trained” artist or a hobby artist. I’m happy to have this little moment to share my talents with you. And I hope they will inspire you to keep the artist in you alive. You can find my nature inspired watercolor greeting cards at Postmark Center for the Arts in Auburn. I have been featured in Hot Press, Northwest Watercolor Society’s Newsletter. I love plein-air painting, sketching with oil pastels, charcoals, inks, and colored pencils. Please join me for one of my classes with Renton Art Oasis.
