Angels-
Christmas Decorations

The 2 on the right are made by iza (except the face).
They are of different construction methods.
I'm more secure and she's more experimental!

...

"Why can't I be the same as everyone else?"

Iza cried and talked in her dream last night.

Every word was so clear.

Don't know what's happened in her dream.

I think she hurts...

These words,

I only yell in my heart,

never divulge.

This is the little secret buried deep in the bottom of my (our) soul.

Because,

we know that we are embraced with blessings.

It is a gift for iza from Paris!
We would love to thank Loulou's mum for sending iza stamps,
as wished by iza in a former post, her ever first post.
It's amazing that a little whispher is being heard in a far place around the world.
The blog is really a nice place.
Having response is wonderful!
Thanks!!!



+++

I love lineworks.
Both sketches are by iza.
The lines are strong.



The dotted lines indicating overlappings are very delicate.

"Mama, do you know what is this?"
"Um......"
"This is an angel!"

YELLOW BALLOON II

When papa ziggy knew the story of yellow balloon, he said to iza,
" You managed to resolve a Mathematical problem, didn't you?"

"I don't know what you are talking! I don't know Maths!" iza was annoyed.

Yes,
if you ask Iza to divide 2000 by 5, she does not know what you are talking about.
And,
she will run away.
But,
she knows she can get 400 balloons if she has 2000 smiley faces.

Very funny!
Is there a hint ?

+++

YELLOW BALLOON

When I picked up iza from school yesterday, I saw her playing with this yellow balloon.
"Who gives you this?" I asked.
"Mr. Marcus (her English teacher). I exchange this with 5 smiley faces!" Iza said proudly.
"If I have 2000 smiley faces, then I can have..."
We were still not yet stepping outside her school...
"...400 balloons!"
"How do you know?" I wondered how she came up with the answer.
"Just think."

My little dear,
she got the answer within half a minute.
My little one,
she knows multiplications of 3, but not yet 4...

I'm tempted to show this "magic" balloon!



+++

Last Sunday, before flying back from Shanghai to Hong Kong.

I was totally exhausted.
And, Iza was not.
She kept talking and talking and talking.
My only response was "ng" (means yes)...

"You 'ng' to everything I said. I have just said the opposite!" she complained.

I used all my energy to give her a gentle smile.

On the plane, I slept almost all the way.
When we got off the plane, saying goodbye to flight attendants...

" Hey! Mama, say goodbye to your 'ng' !"

Good tease!
Thank you very much iza!

+++

1933

It is formerly a slaughterhouse, now an arts space.





The interior is very "Gotham City".
Space is fluid, organic and hybrid.

...

Iza got natural high with all those ramps and stairscases.

She wanted to play hide-and-seek.

Definitely we would lost.

The space is very intricate!

We promise her we will bring walkie-talkie next time, then we can play hard!

...

...

She wanted to have her shot without the head!

...

SHANGHAI

So glad that our works are very much appreciated during the conference
though we could not speak proper Putonghua!
We met a Taiwanese Architect Lee Wei Min.
His works are beautiful.

During the trip, we stayed in Jia, shanghai.



We have visited 1933 - a converted arts space.
Will share tommorrow.

"Clever is ...
the others even do not know he/she is clever.
It is the cleverest."
Iza said yesterday.

I doubted with my ears.
But it was exactly what she was saying.
Reassured.
A blissful sigh...

+++



+++

Tommorrow, we will leave for 3 days,
attending a Design Conference in Shanghai - Design Ephemra.
It is the first time we deliver speech outside Hong Kong.
I'm a bit anxious because my (our) Putonghua is ...

Before leaving, I love to share some books.

Below is an exquisite book on female artists' books,
displaying intricate craftsmanship, wild fantasy, inductive story telling.
...



...
A book of paper aircrafts.
Gift from papa ziggy to iza.

" As we got into the swing of researching aircraft for inclusion in the book, we were awed, too, by their sheer beauty, ingenuity, and power. Admiring these machines, however, comes with a degree of unease and unquiet..."
Juliette Cezzar
Navigator, Editions Aero-Dynamiques
...


...

Another book from papa.
Papa uses the images to tell imaginary stories to iza.
The images are awesome.
But, there is so much weight in each picture.
Sometimes we don't know
whether it is "appropiate" to tell a young child such kind of stories...
...

A minimalistic piece !!!
One cue card,
punches for eyes,
staple for mouth,
clip for nose,
a cut rubber band for hair.
I'm amazed by her delicate and clever use of materials.

Always.
Iza has fun in my office.
She can entertain herself with scraps when I'm busy with my work.



She made this stage for story telling.

A silly piece.

...

SLEEP

We have problem in getting iza sleep since she was a baby.

It becomes worse when the amount of activities increase recently.

She starts violin, balllet, ice skating, social group, individual sensory integration training sessions; together with piano, maths, swimming, phonics... And, practices on violin and piano everyday after school...

Our lives are filled with schedules.

Schedules to catch up everyday.

......

Iza is a high energy child.

She initiates and loves to learn all these things (except social group that I think it is a MUST), and she still wants to add computer and creative technology lessons!

It is crazy!

......

Everyone can see she is very tired.

No matter how tired she is, she still doesn't want to sleep.

She doesn't nap in the afternoon.

She can only fall into sleep around 11:30- 12:00 midnight.

It is obvious why she has great difficulty waking up in the morning for school.

She is still sleeping when having breakfast.

......

This week, I try to get her in bed 2 and a half hours before her normal routine.

It's a great challenge to me.

Because I'm Ms Owl.

My brain works in full function in the midnight.

Also, I need to arrange my work schedule.

As promised by papa, I can be excused to project and office meetings hold after dinner.

Things to be cleared, I can be focused.

......

I "seduce" iza to bed by telling her that it is an enriched storytime.

Iza doesn't like repetition.

The same lot of stories cannot be frequently repeated (the cycle is usually more than a month).

A great source or longer stories are needed!

Every night, we read 2-3 stories books and a few chapters of "The little prince" by Antone De Saint Exupery. We use a chinese translated version with new illustrations.

The effect is good.

She can sleep 30-45 mins earlier than her regulars.

Something quite unexpected, she can get almost every punch lines in the story of "The little prince".

She laughs at the humiliations made on the grown-ups, felt excited when the pilot drew little prince a crate, inside which was the sheep he wanted...

There are a lot of satires and metaphors in the story, it maybe difficult for a young

child.

But I think she is quite OK.

...

After this, we may read Harry Potter or Lord of the Ring... Because, it is long enough :)

Microwave 2008
New media arts festival in Hong Kong
2008.11.7-23