Saturday afternoons / 週六午後

每週六午後得泡在植標館，與其自己一個人，不如找大家來同歡。我們把假日兒童博物館變成長期的計畫，所以小朋友和爸爸媽媽可以電洽(02)3366-2463，看哪個週六下午方便，來和我們一同玩耍。

I spend my Saturday afternoons working as a volunteer in the TAI herbarium. Unlike the past, I am no longer alone now. We have turned the weekend children's museum project into a long-term activity, which means that there are fun games every Saturday. The project is open to the public, so for those who are interested, you can call (02)3366-2463. 

        第一週來了一群好可愛的小學三年級生，我請孩子們先畫工藤祐舜教授的肖像，令人驚奇的是，他們都好喜歡畫畫。

     On the first Saturday came a group of third-graders. I made them draw the portrait of Dr. Kudo, the first   curator of the herbarium. To my surprise, they are all into drawing. 

        整理照片的同時不禁想到之前在坎貝爾上的畫肖像課。因為是週六，也不是在學校，我不想給孩子時間的壓力，他們也慢慢來，很投入地畫圖。

     While I am sorting the photos, I recall the portrait lessons in Camberwell. Since it was a Saturday and neither were we in school, I didn't feel like pressure the kids by constantly reminding them of the passing of time. They really took their time and seemed so involved. 

        這些孩子們很有自己的繪畫風格呢！

     Each of these kids has their own artistic style!

        畫完之後，我讓大家把圖畫隨意剪成塊狀，再做不規則組合。這應該是立體畫派的練習。

     After they were done with drawing, I asked them to cut the portraits into pieces and piece them together again randomly. This should be the introductory lesson to Cubism. 

        雖然男孩們過程中不免打打鬧鬧，不過他們真的好可愛！後排的胖男孩很不想離開，每次看到某些孩子們依依不捨，就是一種很窩心的鼓勵！

     The boys couldn't help making fun of each other along the way, but they are an adorable bunch. The chubby boy in the back didn't feel like leaving at all. It always warms my heart whenever I encounter kids that enjoy the short stay in the herbarium. 

        孩子們走了之後，大人自己來玩！今天由心慧教我們做鳥紙偶。

     After the kids left, it was time for the adults to have fun. Today Xin-huei told us to make puppet birds. 

        我的老鷹。

     My eagle. 

        天空因此變得好繽紛！

     The sky would become so colorful because of the birds! 

        上週六參加了一天的工作坊，早上先上蓪草和台灣一葉蘭的課程，下午用蓪草紙做台灣一葉蘭（只有花瓣是用蓪草做的），非常盡興的一天呢！

     Last Saturday we attended a one-day workshop. In the morning we learned about the rice paper plant and Taiwan Pleione. In the afternoon we made Taiwan Pleione with pith paper (only the petals). Though it was quite chaotic, it was a fantastic day! 

Caterina's Chinese words / 凱特的中國字

本來是我先說想學意大利文，同時凱特說她想學中文，一直都是行動派的我這次居然讓凱特捷足先登，因為她已經去報名了。

I mentioned wanting to learn Italian back in August, and meanwhile Caterina said she'd like to learn Chinese. I am always known for my efficiency in taking action, but this time Caterina beat me. She has signed up for Chinese language courses. 

一直想做中國字的書，於是我請凱特選出十個最喜歡的字，今天快要把腦子想破了，因為中國字本身就很有畫面，可以玩的遊戲很多。

I've wanted to do a book on Chinese words. I asked Caterina to list ten favorite words. Today I tried to brainstorm for solutions. Chinese words are rich in images themselves, so there must be a lot of ways to create the pictures. 

為了牛刀小試，先拿「謝」來實驗，我還問了家人一個問題，如果每個中國字都有顏色，「謝」字是什麼顏色？

To begin with, I experimented with the word "thanks." I asked my family a question. If every Chinese character is endowed with a color, which color will you give to "thanks?" 

畫得正開心的同時，楷維從椅子上摔下來，我拿畫壞的紙畫了一張樂極生悲的楷維畫像，本來他說我把他畫得很醜，最後還搶著把肖像帶回家⋯

While we were drawing and partying, Kai fell from his chair. I used an abandoned cardboard to draw a portrait of him shedding tears in pain. Though he had kept saying I made him look really ugly, he still insisted on taking the artwork home at the end of the day...

Seed / 種子

從早上起床我一路畫圖畫到上班，雖然心裡有很多火花，開始工作的那一刻卻滿臉平靜，還做了好幾個人的心理諮商。

After waking up this morning, I drew all the way to work. Though my heart was crowded with sparks, I looked as composed as ever the moment I started working. I even did some mental counseling for several people. 

傍晚和楷維玩互相畫肖像的遊戲，我想到三十一年前，爸爸媽媽以為自己的女兒是畢卡索，不能埋沒我的才華，送我到畫室學畫圖。當時哪會知道比成為畢卡索更重要的是，這顆小種子變成我心靈的依靠。

In the evening, Kai and I practiced drawing portraits for each other. It then occurred to me that 31 years ago, my parents had the epiphany that I was Picasso incarnate when they saw my first drawing. They immediately sent me to a studio for fear that my talent might be left in oblivion. They didn't know that better than making me Picasso, the seed has become my gigantic mental support. 

希望楷維在三十年之後也有一刻會這麼想到我。

I hope Kai will think of me in the same way in thirty years...