WESTERLY — At a time when we could all benefit from a “tenderer world” — one that inspires us to “wonder, reflect and recharge” — Joy Lin presents soothing words and peaceful drawings in the form of “The Oxherd Boy: Parables of Love, Compassion and Community,” her healing book full of wisdom and hope.
Consider, for example, the page with the little oxherd boy staring at a softly colored pond filled with water lilies, accompanied by the words, “Sometimes the brightest colors come from the darkest places.”
Or the side that urges us: “Don’t worry about what will become of the world. Maybe everything will be fine. Maybe it’s glad we didn’t give up.”
Lin, who writes under the pseudonym Regina Linke, is an author and illustrator with such quiet strength and grace that just being in her presence can be a calming and enriching experience.
On Wednesday, visitors to the Westerly Library’s Hoxie Gallery will have the opportunity to meet Lin and admire her exquisite art. The event marks the opening of her month-long exhibition and will also include an author talk and a Q&A with the audience.
The exhibition includes more than 30 framed prints and scrolls by Lin, sketches of the oxherd boy, behind-the-scenes glimpses of her publishing process, and video time-lapses.
Lin, a Houston-born Taiwanese-American artist, specializes in contemporary Chinese “gongbi” painting, which she uses in “The Oxherd Boy,” a book that celebrates East Asian folklore and philosophy in an accessible and modern way through the use of three “friends”—the ox, the rabbit, and the oxherd boy.
The book, Lin said one recent afternoon as she sat in the Hoxie Gallery talking with her husband, Ben Linke, and young son, Damien, about her work, her background and her move from Taiwan to Westerly in 2023, was inspired by the “Three Harmonious Teachings,” the three pillars of Chinese philosophy.
It was also inspired by Damien.
The first character readers of “The Oxherd Boy” encounter is “the boy,” a Taoist-inspired character, Lin explained, who also resembles her son.
“He looks at the world without distinguishing between right and wrong, and accepts both as a source of balance in the world,” she writes in the introduction to the book about the oxherd boy.
Next, readers are introduced to the Ox, who, as Lin writes, is “a strong and simple character who looks at the world through a Buddhist lens,” combining the boy’s innocence with kindness.
Finally, the rabbit is presented as a symbol of Confucianism.
“She is an active and diligent participant who cares about how we care for one another here on Earth,” Lin writes.
Together, the three help each other build a peaceful relationship with nature, with their community of family and neighbors, and with themselves, Lin said.
Essentially, The Oxherd Boy is a collection of parables with uplifting messages for the various crossroads of life, illustrated in the traditional Chinese style of brush painting.
Lin said she enjoyed painting and drawing as a child in Houston, but did not take any formal lessons.
“Maybe I was annoyed by the instructions,” she said with a quiet laugh.
But when she moved to Taiwan as an adult with her husband Ben, a teaching scientist, the idea of teaching sounded more appealing. She enrolled in a studio where the teacher gave classes in traditional Chinese painting and also taught about Chinese history and traditions. The teacher, Lin said, encouraged students to bring “something of ourselves” to their work.
“It was a perfect fit,” said Lin, who graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, earned a master’s degree from Cornell University and served several years in the Peace Corps in Peru.
But when her teacher told her one day: “You will never become a great gongbi artist,” she was astonished.
“I grew up in the American school system of the 1990s,” she says, laughing. “Everyone got trophies.”
When he told her she had “an eye for Western compositions,” she said she wasn’t sure what he meant.
“Go your own way,” he told her.
Around the same time, she said, her son Damien – who was about four at the time – began asking questions she was unprepared to answer.
“He’s kind of an old soul,” she said of her son, who now attends State Street School. “He was obsessed with subjects that were hard to explain … like death, justice and war.”
She wondered if she could use her art to make her son’s questions – and the principles of the three “Harmonic Teachings” – more “accessible.”
She soon began applying ancient Chinese painting techniques to a digital medium.
“That’s basically how it all came together,” Lin said. “I started posting online and then it took off.”
“It struck a chord,” said Lin, who shares her work on Instagram and has amassed an impressive following. “It’s a privilege to share it with a larger community.”
Lin also publishes her “comics” – messages that are a balm for wounds – on her website.
Her son, she said, “played such a big part in making this all happen.”
“It’s been so much fun and so, so crazy to watch the partnership evolve,” she said. “He plays such an important role.”
“It’s an exciting time,” Lin said. “A happy time.”
“And everyone has been so supportive,” she said, praising United and library staff. Amanda Wagner, marketing and outreach manager for the library and park, was her assistant in setting up the exhibit, which will also include a silent auction of limited edition prints.
“Joy was a pleasure to work with,” Wagner said by phone last week. “She is incredibly talented and her images … with their muted tones … are so unique.”
“She is truly a joy,” Wagner added.
Lin said she also plans to sign copies of “The Oxherd Boy” at the July 3 event. The event will also feature an “armchair interview” with Westerly’s Ted Ferragut.
Ferragut, a writer who, like Lin, is a member of the Westerly Writers Group, said he was thrilled when Lin asked him to moderate Wednesday’s book discussion.
Ferragut said he knew from their first meeting that Lin “was special… with her illustrations, her writings and her informed critique of other members’ work.”
“When I first read her book, I was fascinated,” said Ferragut, “not only by the illustrations but also by the writing style.”
Ferragut, who has read Lin’s book several times, recalled his reaction after reading it for the first time, when he thought, “Joy might think this is a children’s book, and it is, but it’s also a book for adults!”
Ferragut said he was confident that visitors to the exhibition and book discussion at the opening on Wednesday evening “will come to appreciate not only her (Lin’s) high-quality work, but also her high-quality character.”
Lin has also partnered with United, which will sponsor the month-long online silent auction.
Carly Callahan, United’s CEO, called Lin a “shining example of the abundance of talented, creative people in Westerly.”
“She exudes true artistry,” Callahan said in an email, “and we are so fortunate to have her in our community.”
Callahan said that when Lin attended the Michael DePaola Literary Salon of the United States last month, she read an excerpt from an upcoming work.
“Her words were breathtaking,” Callahan said, silencing the audience so much that “you could have heard a pin drop.”
“In addition to her generous support, for which we are very grateful, we are working with her on a project in our gallery for 2025,” Callahan added. “We hope this is just the beginning of a wonderful partnership.”
