Hsiu-Zu Ho - About the Artist
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Hsiu-Zu Ho Mixed Media Artist "I was born in the year of the dragon, on Chinese New Year's day, the youngest of eleven children. According to Chinese astrology, a dragon is full of vitality and strength, is passionate but can appear distant, soft-hearted but can be stubborn, and symbolizes power and fertility—at least that's what the Moon Palace restaurant placemat says. |
In Taiwan, I played jump-rope with linked rubber bands, prayed at the Buddhist temples, prepared for the typhoon seasons, ate shaved ice with sweet milk and azuki beans and celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth moon. A fortuneteller once told my mother that I would be a scientist and an artist.
I am today a career Mom. My briefcase includes a supply of Tiger balm, dried salted plums and chrysanthemum tea bags. I eat pot roast with chopsticks, celebrate Thanksgiving with a Peking duck, remove street shoes upon entering the house, and try to keep straight the yin foods from the yang. I believe in individual rights, but my notion of the self is a collective one. I love pizza, the NBA, and prefer my fish served whole. I am a star-spangled dragon."
BIOGRAPHY
Hsiu-Zu Ho is a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara's Gevirtz Graduate School of Education and an award-winning mixed-media artist. She was born in Keelung, Taiwan and has lived in various regions of the United States (New England, South, Midwest, Rockies, Hawaii, and West Coast). Her mixed-media work typically combines watercolor, oil pastel, and/or acrylic with a variety of found objects and papers that reflect her culture and experiences. “My life is a wonderful mix of cultures. The multicultural journey that I've taken has enriched my life and each path provides new threads to weave my life stories into my art and writing.” Hsiu-Zu is affiliated with the Santa Barbara Art Association, Goleta Valley Art Association, and Malibu Art Association.
EXHIBITIONS
Solo Exhibitions (selected list):
2009 Arts Fund Benefit "20/20" at the home of Ro Snell & Rick Sanders,
Santa Barbara, CA
2009 Places I Must Have Been, Gallery 113, Santa Barbara, CA
2007 Honor, Faculty Club, University of California-Santa Barbara
2006 Asian Elements, Townley Room, Santa Barbara Library
2006 Tales of a Star-Spangled Dragon, Taiwanese American Community Center, San Diego, CA
2005 Benefit for SBCC Adult Education Art Program, Salon Patine, Santa Barbara
2005 Gingko Harmony, Malibu First Bank, Malibu, CA
2004 Benefit for Elings Park, Salon Patine, Santa Barbara, CA
2004 Asian Elements, Benefit for Women's Center, UC-Santa Barbara
2003 Benefit for CALM, Salon Patine, Santa Barbara, CA
Group Exhibitions (selected list):
2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 On the Edge, Gallery 113, Santa Barbara, CA
2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 On the Edge, Cabrillo Pavilion, Santa Barbara, CA
2010, 2009, Buddha Abides, Caruso-Woods Contemporary Art Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
2009 Silent Prayer: A Tribute to Tibet, Fielding Institute, Santa Barbara, CA
2007 Asian Persuasion, Fielding Institute, Santa Barbara, CA
2007 On the Edge, Ciao Salon, Santa Barbara, CA
2004, 2003 Salon Des Arts, Santa Barbara, CA
2003, 2001 Arts Fund Canvas Project, Santa Barbara, CA
EDUCATION
1974 B.S., Purdue University
1980 PhD., University of Colorado Boulder
1981 Postdoctoral fellow, University of Hawaii
1981 to present: Motomura Sensei, Honolulu, HI; Continuing Education at
Santa Barbara City College with Jim Armstrong, Tony Askew, Karen Browdy,
Bill Downey, Jorgen Hansen, Susan Sallade, Yamamoto Sensei
Art Workshops with Ann Baldwin, Gerry Brommer, Bob Burridge
