Birthday Gift / 生日禮物

Mphande是住在馬拉威的小男生，家裡有五個小孩，據說生日禮物得到一盒十二色的蠟筆得和兄弟姊妹分著用，而且遠渡重洋的禮物通常花上一個季節才會到達他手裡。從Mphande身上我再度學到，禮物的價錢和收到禮物的快樂不是成正比的關係，雖然無法直接和Mphande對話，我在一年365 x 24小時中花四個小時製作他的生日卡，如果可以為他帶來點期待，我會感到雙倍的開心。

Mphande is a little boy from Malawi. He has five siblings, so he has to share his birthday gift, a small box of twelve crayons, with them. Besides, it takes more than a season for him to receive the gift that travels around half of the globe. From Mphande, I learn once more that it is the thought behind a gift that counts, not the price. I can’t have direct dialogs with him, but I’ll feel double servings of joy if I know that the birthday card that I take 4 hours out of 365 x 24 a year to make for him does give him something to look forward to.

Year of the Rabbit / 兔年

Heavenly / 清境

Mexico / 墨西哥



午後的陽光照在對街的灰泥建築，可以數出十幾種色調的顏料，最後全混在牆壁最上端：黃色、土色、磚紅色、血紅色、深藍色、藍綠色，加在一起就變成墨西哥的顏色。而墨西哥的味道也是相似的混合風：茉莉花、狗尿尿、香菜、酸橙。墨西哥領你穿過拱形的石壁入口，進入核心樹木林立的庭院，小狗靠著牆尿尿，侍者匆忙地從如簾幕的茉莉花間端出玉米餅濃湯，熱騰騰的，有香菜和酸橙的香味。貓兒在水池四周的泥土花盆之間追逐著蜥蜴，鴿子藏身於綻放的藤蔓，咕咕地祈禱，感謝蜥蜴的存在。盆栽安靜地呼吸，長大到花盆都顯得小了，就像墨西哥的孩子，得縮腳掌、耐心地站著，因為去年的鞋子已經穿不下了。

節錄於芭芭拉金索芙之「缺口」

"In the afternoon when the sun lights the stucco buildings across the street, it’s possible to count a dozen different colors of paint, all fading together on the highest parts of the wall: yellow, ochre, brick, blood, cobalt, turquoise. The national color of Mexico. And the scent of Mexico is a similar blend: jasmine, dog piss, cilantro, lime. Mexico admits you through an arched stone orifice into the tree-filled courtyard of its heart, where a dog pisses against a wall and a waiter hustles through a curtain of jasmine to bring a bowl of tortilla soup, steaming with cilantro and lime. Cats stalk lizards among the clay pots around the fountain, doves settle into the flowering vines and coo their prayers, thankful for the existence of lizards. The potted plants silently exhale, outgrowing their clay pots. Like Mexico’s children they stand pinched and patient in last year’s too small shoes.”

from The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

I Super Love You / 我超愛妳

我說：你愛我吧？

小方說：不，我超愛妳！


I say, “You love me right?”

Von says, “No, I SUPER love you!”

Record / 記錄

這學期要結束了，忘記自己在課堂上曾經說過甚麼，但是我的鐵櫃上記錄著這學期的水彩課。

This semester is coming to an end. I don’t remember much what I said in class, but fortunately, my locker keeps a faithful record of my watercolor lesson.

下班前的星期五，我和秀貞站在辦公室門外用看展覽的心情檢視可以改進的地方，經過的同事被我們倆專注的站姿吸引，也跑來湊一腳。

Before getting off work on Friday, Jane and I take the role of exhibition viewers, standing outside the office and critiquing my works. Some colleagues are so attracted by our attentiveness that they can’t help but join us.

把美術館搬到生活裡，就是這個意思吧！

That’s what we mean by saying “making an art museum out of the everyday life.”

註：最下方的水彩畫是江老師送給大家年終歲末的抽獎贈品。我的畫顏料一層又一層，老師就這麼淡雅地帶過。


PS: The painting at the bottom is a raffle prize from Jim. My paintings are covered in layers of paints while Jim applies just a light brush stroke…

YEAH!

一歲半的小楷最近在語言發展上有持續性的進步，這幾天已經能夠從模仿大人片語中的一個字增加到兩個字，但是我最愛他每次出門前喜悅的歡呼聲，聽到他那樣發自心底說「耶！」，感覺人生充滿快樂，在新的一年裡，當我覺得自己撐不下去時，我要想起楷維的口頭禪，提醒我得時常用一歲半的眼光看世界。

One-and-a-half-year-old Kai has made constant progress in his lingual development. In the past few days, he has demonstrated the leap from the imitation of one word to two by observing the adults’ speeches. However, my favorite is his elated cry whenever he is going out. His heartfelt joy, totally expressed in the exclamation “Yeah!” infects me and fills the whole apartments with merriness. In the new year, when I have the feeling that I can’t make it, I want to think back on Kai’s concise motto so that I’ll be reminded to look at the world from a big baby’s perspective.