Throughout the month of January, The Gallery at Lofino Plaza will feature artwork of local artist Sherry (Lily) Li Cai.
Sherry was born and raised in Wulumuqi, Xingjiang, China. She majored in Chinese literature and studied Chinese painting and calligraphy before moving to the United States in 1997. Sherry taught Chinese language studies and literature at Sinclair Community College until 2010.
While at Sinclair, Sherry studied oil painting with Bridgette Bogle. During an art exhibit there in 2014, she met award-winning Beavercreek artists Yuki Hall and Misuk Goltz where Sherry began her journey with watercolor painting.
Chinese watercolor painting emphasizes simplicity, fluidity, and confident brush strokes. Her watercolors combine the peaceful, joyful influences of the east and west. She continued her studies with Yuki Hall and Misuk Goltz, and with other nationally and internationally acclaimed artists such as Fred Graff, Lian Quan Zhen, and Vladislav Yeliseyev.
When she’s not painting, Sherry teaches at Greater Dayton Chinese School. There, she taught Chinese for 13 years, and has taught art for the past seven years. She and her students host an art show at the school every February to celebrate Chinese New Year. She has demonstrated Chinese painting and calligraphy at the Dayton Regional STEM School and Springfield City Schools.
Her watercolors have earned recognition in Fairborn Art Association art shows, and she was juried into the Middletown Arts Center Area Art Exhibition in 2017 where she earned third place. Since then, she has continually gotten juried into the Miamisburg Arts Exhibition and Middletown Arts Exhibition.
Sherry earned her master’s degree in family ministry at LOGOS University in May 2021.Sherry lives in Beavercreek with her husband and two sons.
The Gallery at Lofino Plaza can be accessed through the Beavercreek Senior Center’s main entrance. The Gallery is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to Noon.