Author: Wang Xi Wang Junhui
The city is bustling and bustling. Many people choose to live in a big city. How would you choose?
Wang Minghua, a member of Guangdong Artists Association and a member of Shenzhen Watercolor Painting Society, has lived in Shenzhen for almost 30 years. In 2015, he decided to move from Shenzhen to a small mountain village in Congjiang County, southeast Guizhou. He also moved his studio here as he settled deep in the mountains. In the four years since 2017, more than one hundred local children have successfully "graduated" from the free drawing training class offered by Wang Minghua.
Fall in love with Congjiang at first sight
Discontinued training courses for one year from Shenzhen to settle in Datang
In 2015, I came to sketch from Congjiang in Qiandongnan, Guizhou due to work. During the sketching process, Wang Minghua was very impressed by the children who stood beside him and watched his paintings. "The children really have been standing next to me from the time I started sketching until the end," Wang Minghua said. "They didn't ask anything, they kept their curiosity standing by and watching."
The picture shows Wang Minghua instructing students in the art interest class. Photo by Wu Dejun
Coming to settle in Congjiang, Wang Minghua said that this idea was decided when he cleaned up the drawing board and parted with the children. After returning to Shenzhen, Wang Minghua told his wife and children his thoughts, "We support your decision." After receiving affirmation and support from his family, Wang Minghua decided to close the painting training class that had been in Shenzhen for 20 years and came to the university. pond.
"Because my wife's work contract had not expired, so I came here to buy a house and renovation work in advance," Wang Minghua said. He contacted a local student to rent two local houses and purchased materials by himself. Renovation work was carried out on the residence. It took nearly a year or so for Wang Minghua to move from Shenzhen to Congjiang.
The picture shows Wang Minghua instructing students in the art interest class. Photo by Wu Dejun
The dream of supporting education was realized in Congjiang
"I once wanted to support teaching when I was young, but the conditions in my family did not allow me," Wang Minghua said. "But this dream has always been in my heart. It's done".
The picture shows Wang Minghua taking students from art classes to sketch outdoors. Photo by Wu Dejun
After living in Datang Village for a period of time, Wang Minghua discovered that most of the children here are left-behind children. Apart from homework on weekends and holidays, there are no extracurricular interest training courses. Art education is relatively weak and many children's hobbies cannot be cultivated. Wang Minghua, who settled in Datang Village, Congjiang County, quickly got in touch with the person in charge of the local elementary school and wanted to open a painting training class for local children for free.
Wang Minghua said: "At first I was worried that the school would not support it, the parents would not support it, and that there would be no children to sign up." However, this doubt was quickly dispelled. The local school happened to lack teachers of art and music. Wang Minghua's lectures allowed children to access more knowledge. In addition to the school's support, 60 students came enthusiastically on the day of registration.
The picture shows students of art interest class sketching outdoors. Photo by Wu Dejun
In order to guarantee the teaching guarantee of the students in the training class, Wang Minghua set the training class personnel limit to 20 people. In the spring of 2017, Wang Minghua's Datang Primary School Art Training Class in Mei was successfully opened.
Discover the beauty around
Based on local and ethnic groups
Wang Minghua said: "When you come to the mountains, the children are really innocent. You can not only feel this innocence in daily communication, but also in their eyes."
The picture shows students of art interest class sketching outdoors. Photo by Wu Dejun
Wang Minghua feels that the local Dong culture is the best material that children can touch and can paint freely with paintbrushes. "Based on the local and the nationality, in this way can we better reflect the things around us", Wang Minghua said, "This is more distinctive and presents the audience with a refreshing feeling." In addition to teaching the basic knowledge of painting, based on national characteristics, Wang Minghua lets children use paintbrushes to paint the people around them, things around them, and things around them.
The picture shows Wang Minghua instructing students in art interest class to sketch from life. Photo by Wu Dejun
The children's drawing skills are very simple, but many works can reflect their most innocent side. During the three years that Wang Minghua held interest classes, these children have won many awards from the province, state, and county, and held many painting exhibitions. This year, the quiet work "Drum Tower of the Dong Family" by the students was also selected for the 2nd National Children's Art Exhibition held by the China Art Association.
The picture shows Wang Minghua instructing students in art interest class to sketch from life. Photo by Wu Dejun
The road ahead continues
“When I first came in, I felt embarrassed in the classroom, but after these three years I didn’t feel embarrassed anymore.” The students who had studied in the painting class for three years would rather say happily, “I didn’t observe myself at first. In my hometown, I am now learning to paint with Teacher Wang. I feel that my hometown is beautiful, and I feel very happy in painting with my friends."
The picture shows students of the art interest class would rather show their works selected for the National Art Exhibition. Photo by Wu Dejun
The changes made by the children made Wang Minghua very gratified, allowing them to learn from it and discover the beauty around them, and to have more thinking to change themselves. This is what Wang Minghua wants to give to the children. From 2017 to the present, Wang Minghua has accompanied the children for four years with the companionship during weekends in school and the training courses during winter and summer vacations.
The picture shows students in the art interest class showing their sketches. Photo by Wu Dejun
How to plan for the future, Wang Minghua said that the painting class will continue to be opened for free. He will continue to teach children to paint, take them outside to learn, broaden their horizons, and help them realize their dreams.