story by Emma Willibey, photo by Anna Leach

Chinese art and culture teacher Valda Hsu’s painting adorns a wall of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art’s Ford Learning Center, a position that dictates many artists’ fantasies. But as Hsu discovers her brush stroke work flanking students’ pieces, she isn’t satisfied. Instead, Hsu silently rehashes her routine: remove the piece, hide it, and tuck it in the trash. Now, with students’ creations seizing the spotlight, Hsu reaches fulfillment. Until next time, that is.

Through leading art workshops like those at the Nelson-Atkins, Hsu acquired advice, fresh ideas, and, yes, the need to showcase students’ work before her own. Since 2006, Hsu has demonstrated Chinese brush stroke painting to institutions ranging from area grade schools to UMB Bank. With the presentations’ streamlined nature, Hsu aims for students to depart with at least one gratifying piece. On a long-term scale, though, by fusing modern elements into Chinese tradition, Hsu hopes students will find common ground with the art form.

“[People think], ‘This is so entirely Chinese and ancient,’” Hsu said. “But I’m going to gap it and approach it as, ‘We can make this 21st century, too.’”

Hsu’s interest in western techniques developed at Pasadena, Ca.’s Art Center College of Design, but general love of art stemmed from her upbringing in China. Be warned, though—no flashy, kitschy, soap-opera revelations foreshadowed Hsu’scountry-spanning pursuit of an arts career. Fourteen-year-old Hsu was simply an ambitious girl capturing a lifelong fascination.

“Before I could even write my name, I was painting on rice paper,” Hsu said. “Art really enriched my life.”

The projects, internships and responsibilities branching from Art Center shaped a tight schedule for Hsu. Soon, her editorial illustration studies shifted into a blur of hand-drawn costumes, posters, album covers, even Swiss watches. Though rewarding, LA’s breathless pace attracted competition and demanded top-quality work.

“In a huge city, there is a mixture of different grades of people, [and] you just don’t know who’s real,” Hsu said. “It’s so fast-paced in LA [that] you don’t have time to make mistakes.”

Between independent tasks, studio classes and tutoring duties, Hsu’s creative focus consumed her college life. After graduation, as engulfment in design led to restricted family time, Hsu sought a solution.

“I was able to produce a lot of work, but I had no life,” Hsu said. “[I thought], ‘I want a place where I can actually have a schedule and watch [my child] grow up.’”

This desire, coupled with a designing position at Hallmark, directed Hsu to the Midwest. Though the move enabled a more stable lifestyle, one factor appalled Hsu—the absence of art classes at her son’s elementary school.

“How can a school not have an arts program?” Hsu said.

Hsu didn’t reason with the idea.  Instead, she intervened with the school despite her son’s reluctance, plunging into the teaching world and gradually garnering attention from the Kansas City Art Institute and Kansas City Young Audiences.

“Once I started to teach Chinese art, I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, there’s no limit,’” Hsu said. “I just fell in love doing it.”

According to Nelson-Atkins studio programs manager Lisa Schlagle, students share the enjoyment, as Hsu’s adult painting class filled all slots on its first appearance. Artist Elizabeth Franklin, who first attended the course five years ago, appreciated its eager-to-learn atmosphere and Hsu’s guidance on refining her brushwork.

“A lot of the class was repetition,” Franklin said. “Although every time I went, I learned something new.”

While the sessions induced compliments, Schlagle reports that they also raised demands. Requests for more weeks included with Hsu’s class littered Nelson-Atkins phone calls and emails, confirming the lessons’ success. However, the course’s popularity isn’t limited to its Nelson-Atkins following.

“It’s really obvious that she enjoys what she does, and that makes the experience even better for the kids,” KCYA coordinator Diane Gregg said of Hsu’s workshops for grades K-12. “They’re getting exposed to the Chinese culture and an art form they might not see otherwise.”

Hsu utilizes students’ interest as a platform for her teaching style. The unbridled energy children exhibit when honing a new skill motivates Hsu to approach the topic from an equally revitalized viewpoint.

“I feel like I’m refreshing my own eyes to see the culture again,” Hsu said. “If I’m not with [students], I wouldn’t know to revisit that feeling. They’re so pure in their heart; the experience is so honest.”

Even speaking of her students’ enthusiasm possesses Hsu with positivity; her eyes gleam as she discusses aspirations to update Chinese art. Blending media, threading English into paintings, recreating part of the ancient Chinese scroll “Second Ode to the Red Cliff” for an upcoming Nelson-Atkins exhibit—the opportunities are limitless. And with or without others involved, Hsu accepts that her passion for art is the same.

“You can retire from being a teacher, but you can never retire from being an artist,” Hsu said.