Ladybugs for the Summer 夏日裡的瓢蟲

No time for holidaying this summer, sadly; I have to get an interesting design project going and prepare for my two exhibitions in September and October.

But if I can manage to take a short break, I would like to lying on a lavender-scented blanket having a deep coma; reading a bit; back to coma. I don’t like to think too much in the summer so, in terms of my idea of a summer getaway, maybe observing ladybugs in the garden and enjoying the sensation when it tickles me between my fingers.

Aren’t ladybugs the best?
嗚乎哀哉，今年暑假泡湯了。我必須盡早進行一項有趣的設計工作並專注即將在九月和十月的開幕的兩個展覽。

可是如果我能夠偷個浮生半日閒，我喜歡躺在撒遍紫丁香香味的涼毯上打個熟頓；翻幾頁書；再睡個回籠覺。在夏日裡我並不太思考人生大事。對我來說，今年理想的暑假可能就是在花園裡觀賞著瓢蟲，享受它在我指間爬行搔癢的奇妙感覺。

瓢蟲最棒了, 不是嗎？

Elegant Things 優雅情事

Translucent purple petals lit from the late afternoon light.

The unique patterns and textures on quail eggs.

The elongated sculptures by the Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966).

The sound of corks popping out from bottles of Burgundy wine.

An encounter with long-lost friends at museums.

An old grandma's innocent smile of tranquillity and happiness.

A pretty fragrance lingering in the fall evening air.

Smelling Khublai Khan in New York 聞出忽必烈, 在紐約。

Portrait of Khublai 忽必烈 by Chinese court artist Liu Guandao(刘贯道), c. 1280

Painting of Kublai Khan on a hunting expedition, by Chinese court artist Liu Guandao(刘贯道)
The hunter in red hat and white fur robe on a black horse is Kublai Khan

I wondered for a while in the night, without knowing where I was. I listened to the wind, and felt the grass on my feet. Here and there, I smelled of a herbaceous scent, and realized that I was on a green prairie.

Suddenly I heard a thundering sound. The area I stood was swirling in wind so intense that it hid the stars from view. Before me it was a Mongolian horseman, with a peregrine falcon perched on his left shoulder, sitting astride an enormous black horse.

He wore a white fur robe and his familiar round face exuded a powerful yet friendly manner. His smile, glittered in the soft light of the stars, mingled with the scent of prairie... And all of sudden I recognized him––Khublai, the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire (1260-1294) and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...

Of course my sensory encounter with Khublai is just a dream. It reflects my personal experiences of the images, sounds, scents, and emotion from my visit to The World of Khublai Khan忽必烈的時代 at Metropolitan Museum of Art last night. If you happen to be in New York, don't miss out the opportunity to create your own sensory experience with the art during the great time of Khublai Khan.

Tender is the Helsinki Summer Night 赫爾新基的溫柔夏夜

10:15 P.M.

10:45 P.M.

11:35 P.M.

1:10 A.M.

In Helsinki summer, the sun starts moving out of the back door around 10:30 P.M. and waiting at the front around 3:30 A.M. The night sky is often quintessential, a mutable blue between easy-moving clouds, and a breeze blowing in street corners.

On a tender night like this, I like to take a stroll on the streets, feeling the breeze in my hair, smelling the sap and ozone and birch, seeing the streetlights shinning serenely on Fredrikinkatu. I'd keep walking until my hair and shoulders are furred with droplets from the mist, on a tender night like this.