Graduation Trip / 畢業旅行

這個星期其他班級快快樂樂地去畢業旅行，我們選擇留在學校準備各種活動和作業。之前和好多人開了支票，說我最晚要在春天辦西班牙旅行的展覽，本來有點想假裝忘了這件事，不過既然圖都畫好了，看來我們班又需要一場旅行，不如就在教室裡辦吧！下著綿綿小雨的周四下午，伴著可口的蛋糕咖啡，除了我的基本觀眾二善，還來了不少熱情的同事，連媽咪和小方都成為座上賓，我們開了一場充滿暖意的茶會。

During the past week, other classes went on the graduation trip they had long been looking forward to, while my class opted to stay at school for the preparation of the big presentation in May and various assignments. I did give a rain check to many people about the exhibit on the trip to Spain as late as this spring, but I really felt like pretending that I hadn’t made the promise. Not that I didn’t finish the series. The drawings were in my portfolio, and we did need a trip, in any kind of form. I then made the decision to hold the exhibit in our classroom along with an afternoon tea party. Thus, on a drizzly Thursday afternoon, we had a really warm and lovely gathering with my girls and many enthusiastic colleagues. Even Mom and Von were invited to be the special guests.

託雙親的福，我從小在學校長大，畢業之後又在學校工作，我對於這個環境很熟悉，卻一直沒有跳脫傳統的框框，星期四的下午茶會讓我想了很多，學校是學習但也是生活的地方，因此所有和生活有關的活動其實都可以搬到這個場合，因此教室後面的佈告欄就變成我暫時的展覽空間，比起在遙遠的畫廊或咖啡館展覽，作品陳列於日常生活空間時，可接觸度就變高了。

For my parents’ sake, I grew up in schools, and I have worked in schools after graduating from college. I know this environment well, but I couldn’t think outside the box when it came to how to make use of it creatively. The party on Thursday afternoon made me think a lot about the functions of schools, which are a place for learning. However, we also “live” in schools as we spend about one-third of a day there. Therefore, everything related to daily life can be experimented in school. I turned the bulletin board on the back into space for displaying my artworks. Compared with distant galleries and cafes, art becomes more accessible when exhibited in everyday living space.

如果說我有甚麼夢想的話，我很希望有一天能夠在書店開讀書會，向大家介紹新書的內容和背後的故事，但是我在教室裡執行了這個想法，也很坦然地把自己的想法和身邊最親近的人分享，從前的我對於藝術的定義太遠大，其實從日常生活做起，可以得到非常直接的回饋和鼓勵，而當我聽到，至少有一個人已經決定明年也要去西班牙旅行時，我就更開心了。

One of my dreams is to hold a book-reading session in a bookstore, and I’d like to share with my readers the stories behind my book. I am glad that I have carried this out in a classroom. I also learned to share my thoughts with people around me. I used to define art in a very lofty way. In fact, I’ve realized that if I start right here and now from people I see on a daily basis, I can get very direct feedback and encouragement. I couldn’t express my happiness in words when I heard that at least one person had been influenced by me and planned to travel to Spain next year.

這是我今年春天最美好的小事件，希望大家也都受到同樣的感動！

I’d say this is the most beautiful event for me this spring, and I hope everyone present that day was equally touched!