Hong Kong Garden

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Thrangu 2




What a beautiful monastery, i can not wait till it opens to public in late July!
I'm proud to have contributed. the blocks my siblings and i painted looked great rimming the ceiling.
hope everyone is having a wonderful eventful summer. Something good always happens, you just need to catch it in time.

Last night, I volunteered at a Charity Wine Auction, all donations proceed to the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Organization for Young Children. Number one killer of children under age 2. It was exhausting as it was the first time i helped out at an open auction but a great summer experience indeed!


Wednesday, June 16, 2010

"I'm gonna steal it"

So one day, i walk in my room and i find natalie aggressively rubbing her desktop screen, on these giant chub cheeks of this asian baby."awbaaaabyyyyy", i looked at her, grabbed my bag and slowly walked away.
The next day i made this her desktop wallpaper. and then we were obsessed.
Henry, Spring 2008 *pointy pointy*
Baby Henry was my faculty kid in my uppermid yr at Hotchkiss. Cutest baby ever. He has a little brother Teddy now.

Watch this Youtube Video: 15 yr old Victoria wants a baby (Maury Povich) it's disturbingly-catchy

but babies grow up too fast

CONGRATULATIONS BIG SIS, STANFORD GRADUATING CLASS OF 2010!
we're all so proud of you, kristine!

Next on Hong Kong Garden: Follow up on Thrangu-Monastery(i'm living in it now) Almost home!
and if you haven't added yourself as a follower. Follow it now.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Larkin Love

Dear my Larknites,

This one is for all of you. I'm going to miss being in Larkin. not just a little, but a lot. I've lived in dormitories for my last five years, and this is by far the craziest and most memorable one. College dorms are indeed more adventurous, seeing how i lost my mattress, my room phone, my room key, oh but i found my chair! Oh no, Kirk just said goodbye to me, i am tearing up. Why is summer here already? I know i will miss all you larkinites, but knowing that i will see you all again after summer ends, i think i'll be okay. but it's just the idea of leaving Larkin and having some strange frosh living in my room next year. what will i do without pete, fidel, tcone, matt, aleema, emu, cassie, bridge, declan, patti and geoff? Larkin has been so incredible. i love this place. i love how close it is to late night. i love how i am living in the center of everything. For one second, let us imagine if we were put into FroSoCo, our lives would be a complete different story. It's really about "all the right moves, people and places". And now that i'm graduation from Larkin'10, I can proudly say, "i am at the right place".


So to finish off this amazing year, i have complied a list of artworks, all done only by our fellow Larkinites! Please leave comments or tell them how wonderful they are!



(sorry cesar, i messed up on the captions)

Top Left: Raza Day Mural for MECha

Top Right: DLL Mural

Bottom: AP Art Portfolio

Also you guys should check out Cesar's blog: http://ctorresart.blogspot.com/

I know there are still some of you artists hiding out there! So please please please send me an artwork or two, and i'll complete this beautiful exhibition. Long Live larkin!

Love, Vickie


Recent Works in Painting 1 Class

Left: Mark Appel Pitching Photography by Patrick Appel
Right: Prized Baseball Glove, Spring 2010
i painted this baseball mitt for one of our reductive monochromatic painting assignments. It was symbolic of natalie's and my freshmen year experience. Whether its my morning wake-up calls to Ringo's snoring or worse Piscotty's pillow tackles, late evening surprises to Marcus on my bed like a sleeping angel or Sahil's terrorist 24 fights. My next goal is to have them all sign this small painting, so one day, i'll make money.
Left: Flowers away from home, Spring 2010
Right: Water Vase, Spring 2010
both are completed using reductive techniques. This means that no white paint is used. you use a wash cloth or mineral spirits to take away paint showing the organic canvas.
Directing Smoke and Streetlights, Diptych, Spring 2010'
Hong Kong Central Street Life, Spring 2010
Other Amazing Student Works and Finals:
by Angela Huang
by Kendall Ernst
Self-Portrait by Katie Murray, Diptych
Did i mention this is an introduction to Painting class? (Stanford really needs to fix its art dept.)
Next on Hong Kong Garden: The Final Chapter of Larkin Love
Note: If you're a new reader, don't forget to follow this blog (how? click on the follow button on the left column) ! i'd like to know whose reading, it really motivates me to paint more wonderful works!
and if you're an artist, writer, musician, photographer, email me @ vickieli@stanford.edu, because i'd like to feature you in some of these entries! i can think of some off the top of my head.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Thrangu

I don't understand my mother, and i probably will never. I'm having difficulty explaining this but today, my sister and i agreed that it's almost as if she's always holding a balloon with her brain in it. and whatever is in it goes with the wind.
Mother with her Rinpoche teacher, Winter 2007

My relationship with my mother is not like other parent child relationships. We treat each other like annoying best friends. It's actually quite funny. We'd be sitting at the dinner table and my mom would start stroking my arm pointlessly making baby noises like a pokemon,"beeby beeby beeby", i think she still hasn't realized that babies don't say 'baby", but rather ahgnga wahrr or whatever they make. She's also extremely blunt, burps in public and unzips her pants when she eats too much at nice restaurants. This is where we're in-common. But nevertheless, i do look up to her as a role model, sometimes. Deep down, i do love her and adore her, but really really deep down. we're still at the annoying stage, but it keeps our relationship interesting and exciting!

She's a buddhist, a real active one too. She spends about 50% on buddhism, 30% on family, 5% on shopping, 5% on work, 4% on technology and 1% on my dad. It's quite a balance, i don' t know how she does it, but then again, who does?

Right now, she is in the Final Stages of building a monastery in Vancouver. I'll be there in two weeks and at its opening ceremony at the end of July.
here's the website if you're interested!: Thrangu Monastery, CANADA

Last summer, my sibs and i volunteered to work there for a good 2 to 3 weeks. Look at us pound out these ornament blocks! So we developed an efficient work cycle amongst us four without being scolded by yanyan (Yanick, our supervisor)
This is how it looks like installed on the rims of the ceiling.

I go to a few buddhist retreats with my grandmother, mother,and sisters. It's one way for me to find mediation and balance in life. I am a buddhist, but not as religious as my mom's side. I do believe in karma, in reincarnation, in my next life. I do believe that i have to do good. .

This photo does crack me up a bit. i wasn't aware that they're trying to take a group picture. this was taken at the national park in Vancouver. It was quite a day walking around with a lot of red friends.

My father, on the other hand, is not buddhist. this where tension comes in.

A love story

My father signed my mother a cheque,
a thousand dollars to throw away her orchids,
which she loves most but he hates
for those hungry little bugs .

My mother bought with his cheque,
a thousand fish to free into the sea
for him on his birthday,
but he does not know.

Four summers ago, there was another retreat. At the same time there was a silent auction for participants, money went to building this monastery. So i drew a portrait of the 9th Thrangu Rinpoche, my mother's teacher. He is indeed a huge figure in buddhism. It was auctioned off at a hundred dollars, cha-ching!
9th Thrangu Rinpoche, Summer 2006, drawn in oil pastels

After all this, i can't resist myself putting up these family sillies from Tokyo 2007 at Hyatt hotel.
So earlier that day, i was at this junk store in Tokyo, and i saw this gold jumpsuit like the ones they use in human tetris, and i thought, "i have to get it". Then later on that day, i saw this at the mask store and i had to get that too.
So that night, at about 2 in the morning, my sister, kristine and i, woke up for our mission. I had asked my younger sister to let mom's room door open. So i crawled in, sat in in lotus position, in the dark, at the foot of her bed . It was a good five minutes before she saw me and bulged. enjoy!



Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Liquid Courage

Wifey, Alexis Gay

It's really obnoxious how we got married, but silly moments like this last a lifetime. I know that when we're both married to our loved ones, we will still laugh about it and so will our kids especially when we send them off to Hotchkiss.
And this is how i proposed and she accepted! Although she is no longer completely mine now, ahem*pat**, (i'm sure he's found that sweet angelic personality i found in her)

Alexis now lives in Sailsbury CT and goes to NYU! We met junior year but i don't really remember how. But i can say that it was not until she became a sick 3gLAXer that we bonded. she has a beautiful mother, Dori, a beautiful house (best-thrown parties), but a not-so beautiful dog. Haha, her dog does scare me just a teeny tiny bit. But i love everything about this girl. She is purely talented in the arts- the music, she writes and sings her songs and she acts on stage too! it's amazing. I miss hearing her voice, especially when she serenades me while i paint her from real-life. She was singing her own cover of "I want to hold your hand"

Alexis Gay and Guitar, Spring 2008

This is my favourite song by her and I wanted to be the first to type her lyrics, Laura Pulver will be jealous, so here it is:
Click here to Download: Liquid Courage- Alexis Gay mp3.
Liquid Courage by Alexis Gay—The punch bowl LP

I, feel a little chemistry,
sometimes between you and me,
but i'm afraid it's just my fantasy.
I'm not saying you bring me sunshine,
but you can read my mind,
I really need that sometimes.

How come when we're drunk and we're lying on the floor it's okay.
And you don't care what they think anymore and you keep me warm
And sobered up, tomorrow comes, i see you and smile
God forbid that your friends walk by will,
let's not pretend that you would say hello.
But i know, that if tonight i looked hot,
Then i will, have to watch you take another shot,
Come a little closer to me,
whisper something secretly.
then you grab my hand and pull me into a room i've never seen!
What does that say about you?
Does that say something about me too?

If i see you and your liquid courage
and i do nothing to discourage you.

Sometimes, I swear to god i think you're gay,
that you're really just afraid,
so tell me why do you behave this way?
Selfishly i'm hoping that i'm wrong,
like you say in that one song,
we all move along.

How come when we're drunk and we're lying on the floor it's okay.
And you don't care what they think anymore and you keep me warm
And sobered up, tomorrow comes, i see you and smile
God forbid that your friends walk by will,
let's not pretend that you would say hello.
But i know, that if tonight i looked hot,
Then i will, have to watch you take another shot,
Come a little closer to me,
whisper something secretly.
then you grab my hand and pull me into a room i've never seen!
What does that say about you?
Does that say something about me too?

If i see you and your liquid courage
and i do nothing to discourage you. (x2)

Please take the time and listen to it, i sing it everytime i shower, my roommate started listening to it too , it should definitely be on your ipod too, please leave comments!
and if this is your first time reading my blog, dont' forget to add yourself as a follower!
Next on Hong Kong Garden: My Latest oil paints!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Hotchkiss in Antartica


Watercolor portraits of my favourite dynamic duo

Brooke Nayden, Winter 2008
Cameron Foxgrover, Spring 2009

(Both have the original works)

I can't believe they both got to go on this trip. There was a lottery for 100 students and 16 faculty members for an all expense paid trip to Antartica accompanied by 100 scientists and Mr. Mars himself (the guy who makes snicker bars and m&ms, hence our very own blue & white "H" hotchkiss m&ms) nomnomnom.

"Mr. McKenzie is pleased to announce that once again Hotchkiss graduate and trustee, Forrest Mars ’49, has generously donated a trip to Antarctica for 85 students and 15 faculty members. Mr. Mars offered a similar trip six years ago when he led 50 intrepid individuals from the Hotchkiss community, 44 students and six teachers, to this remote part of the globe.The second Antarctica Expedition will take place in December 2008 and January 2009, and promises to be extraordinarily exciting. As Hotchkiss continues to emphasize the significance of environmental awareness among its students, this trip provides a compelling opportunity to explore one of the world’s most critically important ecosystems. It is the School’s sincere hope that this expedition be meaningful for the entire Hotchkiss community – both for those journeying to the southern reaches and those remaining on campus."

I didn't put myself in the lottery, so i didn't get to go. But these lucky two did.


i heart penguins

Brooke came to visit me about two months ago with her two friends over spring break. we had "hella" fun. It was so good to see her! After she dropped off her stuff and met my roommate, we found out that her boyfriend is my roomie's cousin. what a insanely small world!!


And guess who just moved to los altos, 10 minutes away from me? Foxy!