For the months of May and June, the Sunderland Public Library’s Lane Family Reading Room Gallery will turn into a fount of inspiration, as the library honors the work of a late-blooming artist.

Through “Awing & Honoring Frederick Gao,” the library will host five different multi-sensory workshops in its reading room, as it celebrates the work of Frederick Gao, a Belchertown resident who found his passion for art in the last five years of his life and created more than 100 oil paintings and ink sketches in the time leading up to his death at 73 in December 2023.

To honor the passion, or the “awing,” Gao found in his artwork, and to serve as the celebratory debut of his work he never got to experience, the library and his daughter, Boyuan Gao, are seeking to inspire that same passion through the workshops taking place in May and June.

“My dad was a very reserved and kind of shy person, but once he started painting he would share with anyone,” Boyuan Gao said, adding “awing and honoring” is a phrase from “The Art of Gathering” by Priya Parker, encouraging people to host events in a human-centered manner. “That is such a beautiful sentiment because [the program series] is obviously honoring my dad with having a solo show, but I also wanted folks to find their own inspiration that starts within them and bring that to the workshops.”

Frederick Gao was born in Xi’an, China in 1950 and lived through the country’s Cultural Revolution before moving to the U.S. in the mid 1980s for school. He ended up attending graduate school at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and loved the area so much that he decided to stay in the region.

He received no formal art education other than dabbling with ink illustrations as a youth, but soon found an “obsession” in 2018 after his retirement, which led to 40 art pieces in the first year alone. While he didn’t receive any formal training, his daughter said he connected with an older gentleman at Belchertown’s senior center, who did share some art techniques and got him in touch with the Quabbin Art Association.

“From the moment he set everything up, he was ravenous,” Boyuan Gao, who is an artist and entrepreneur, said. “My idea was to have a centralized hub, at least for a little while, where people can bring their own media and have that be in conversation with my dad’s work.”

An opening reception will be held for the exhibition on Saturday, May 4 from 2 to 4 p.m.

“It’s expanding on the concept of inspiration; that art can be for all — and to really honor an amazing novice artist,” said Sunderland Public Library Director Katherine Umstot. “It was Boyuan’s idea to expand it beyond the art exhibit and to have other artists come in; not just to teach painting, but to focus on writing, herbalism and all types of artwork.”

Boyuan Gao said the series is a wonderful way to honor her father and is a chance for her family to spend some time together in memory of her dad, while sharing his natural talent with the community, which she hopes awakens the artist in program attendees.

“I hope people really enjoy it, that’s really the main thing,” Gao said. “I really hope that this becomes something much bigger than this idea. If it sparks something within the community, I don’t care if people steal this idea, I want it to have a life of its own.”

One of those workshops will be “Liminal Spaces: Finding Ourselves Through Clay,” an introduction to ceramics workshop for all ages hosted by Greenfield-based artist Akilah Scharff-Teoh.

Scharff-Teoh is a friend of Boyuan Gao and was able to spend some time with Frederick Gao before his passing. She said she was also a bit of a late-blooming artist – she left her corporate job in 2019 to pursue pottery – and her inspiration came from the pride Gao took in his work.

“He sat down with me and showed me all the illustrations,” Scharff-Teoh said. “The joy that he had was contagious and he was so happy and proud to share it with me and I will never forget that moment.”

In her workshop, Scharff-Teoh said she is hoping to draw some of that same inspiration out of people in introducing them to ceramics in an environment where there is no pressure or expectations. She’ll open up with a quick discussion about Frederick Gao’s work before setting folks loose on their own artistic adventure. As an added bonus, if someone creates a piece of pottery they would like to keep, Scharff-Teoh will fire it in her kiln and arrange pickup of the finished product at the library.

“Ceramics can be really intimidating and it can also be cost-prohibitive to even get your foot in the door,” she said. “I want to introduce people to clay in a way that allows them to find their inner artist on their terms … I want them to get a feel for the clay and I want to let their minds wander.”

Frederick Gao’s exhibit may be viewed any time the library is open. The Sunderland Public Library is open on Mondays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 1 to 8 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The schedule of programming is as follows:

■Mapping the Wilds of Grief, a writing workshop for adults – May 7 from 6 to 8 p.m.

■Exploring Inner & Outer Wilds: Embodied Nature Writing, a writing workshop and nature walk for adults – May 15 from 2 to 4 p.m.

■Liminal Spaces: Finding Ourselves through Clay, a ceramics workshop for all ages – June 8 from 2 to 4 p.m.

■Poems & Paintings & Postcards, a poetry workshop for people of all ages – June 15 from 2 to 4 p.m.

■Cartographies: Mapping the Interior, an interdisciplinary writing and art workshop for adults – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Some events require an RSVP due to capacity limits. More information about Frederick Gao, the programs being held, the artists putting them on and where to RSVP can be found at Frederickgao.com/solo-show.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.

Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled Akilah Scharff-Teoh’s l