Life is full of surprises for a 71-year-old formerly illiterate woman who signed up for a Chinese course at the Stella Matutina Evergreen College in 2005 and has become a painter and an author.
Wang Su-ying (王素英) had to drop out of elementary school after her second year because her family could no longer afford to send her. Like many people, she only had time to continue her education when her children had grown up and she was free from financial worries.
For Wang, learning to read and write also allowed her to learn how to drive. She passed her driving test at age 65, which then allowed her to drive to college four days a week.
Photo: Su Meng-chuan, Taipei Times
In addition to the Chinese course, she studied sketching with art teacher Hu Chih-chiang, who has now helped Wang publish a picture book titled Live Out the Color of Life — Grandma’s Color Mixing Plate.
During art class, when Wang finished a piece, she would share the story behind her creation and Hu would write the story down. They became close friends and Hu, who said she was deeply moved by Wang’s lively spirit and life view, came up with the idea three years ago of compiling the paintings and stories into a book.
The book was released on Wednesday and at the book launch, Wang displayed one of her crayon sketches, which she said she had copied from an old photograph taken 40 years ago.
The sketch, which shows herself and another woman rowing a boat, was a reflection of her youth, Wang said, adding that she was 28-years-old at the time, and the park outing was a wonderful memory. The other woman wore a purple sweater, a color that stands for eternal friendship, Wang said.
Wang’s 35-year-old daughter Chu Chia-feng (屈佳峰) said her mother was a very talented artist and a highly motivated student.
“My mother told the art teacher that she wanted to paint because she wanted to remember every moment of her life through paintings,” Chu said.
“She always told me not to give up on anything,” Chu said. “Life-long learning is the greatest inspiration I have found from her.”
The book contains 42 paintings and was translated into Japanese and English so it could inspire and encourage other elderly people at the college who are studying languages, a course coordinator surnamed Yang (楊) said.
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