Winter The other day, I heard geese flying across the sky in the dawn, then I realized the season was about to change. I was so busy with life, and blunt about the subtle changes in the air. Time never stops flying even if I ignore it. Winter is on its way. I locked myself in my little world the past fall, trying to isolate myself from anyone and anything. The changes of the outside world had nothing to do with me. What was wrong with me? I used to smell the fall by a fallen leaf and touch winter by the very first snow flake on my eye lash...but right now I just need my phone to tell me the date, the weather, the schedule, and the deadlines. I stood up and walked outside, a group of geese was just flying above my head. They were talking happily to each other while flying towards their winter habitat - somewhere nice and warm. Twice every year, they follow the nature's way, listening to their biological clock beep, and they survive, cozy and happy. As I grew up, I thought I became more smart and powerful, but I am gradually losing my basic senses to this world as a child. Everyday then was dark and lonely. I would like to be one of the geese in my after life, what about you?
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Plaid Collection
Strip Collection
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Catalog: 7--------------------Last colors of fall 9-----------------------------The fading green 17------------------------Latte brown 23-----------------------The shape of the world 33-----------------------------Mirror 43-----------------------Natural way to beauty 44-------------------SmilingBear shop 45----------------Winter collection group portrait
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Last colors of fall After a couple showers of cold rain, wild grasses are waving in the chilly wind and the vivid colors in the park are taken away. Green is fading, turning into a kind of weak mint, and soon a complete dry brown, Early winter is dominated by the brownish tone with a little hint of green. The land is covered with a pajama and waiting for the snow cover for the long winter sleep. The faded green and brown are the color pallete of the moment before snow hits. In my winter knitting collection, the colors I chose are mint and latte to indicate the current natural colors everywhere around me. Mint is so gentle and fresh, it could be the color of early spring, meaning new life; and it could also be the color of late fall or early winter, meaning thrift is fading with time. Life is a circle pretty fair- everything goes back to where it is from to start a new life turn. No exception.
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The fading green As winter comes, the green field is turning into yellow and brown. Good seasons are about to be replaced by cold winter. However, that is not what makes me sad because I know the green is going to come back next year. I was standing on the fringe of the city, seeing the bobcats running back and forth on natural priairy grasses. They are going to turn it into a new piece of concrete. Sprawl, a horrible word in the books I read, is happening around me right now. The flood damaged many old and beautiful neighborhoods and oil booming brought opportunities for money. So, we abandoned what we have and stepped into virgin land to solve the problems. Simultaneously, we talked about how recycling is "not economically feasible"here, due to the lack of local support. ... Before these vivid seasonal colors are replaced by a strip mall, or a parking lot, or a high way, or a tree-free neighborhood, let me sit here for a moment and say goodbye to all the living lives.
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CITY I am too easy to feel lonely, so I need company even they are strangers. I do not want to spend my life sitting in a car, so I love walking. I like small shops with unique personalities, so I hate strip malls with their cold walls. I would rather have a flower pot on the balcony than own a large piece of lawn. City, is my destination.
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The same latte color could look different when matched with different colors: -it feels cold with light grey -together with cream, they create a warm tone -black and latte together is a modern color pallete
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"Who are you?" "I am Luke." "I am Jen. "I am Dave." "Where are you from?" "I am from Arizona." "I am from Korea." "I am from Texas." "Where are you going?" "..." "..." "..."
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The Shape of the world Why is the clock a circle when life feels like a road going ahead in one direction? Why do we look older when we are back to January every year? We all have a name to indicate who we are, and we all have a birthplace to tell where we are from. While "from" is a start point, what is the end point- where are we going? In the Christian world, after you die, you either go to the heaven or the hell, living happily or miserablly forever after. In Buddism, after you die, you start another life cycle, called afterlife. What you do in your current life will affact the quality of your afterlife and your current life is the result of your past life. Every year, we are looking forward to spring when we see snow is melting; every month, the moon goes from waxing crescent to full and to waning crescent; every day, the sun rises from the east and sets into the west. Life feels like the nonstop clockhand, going and going but repeatedy passing the same numbers. What we feel the deepest is things changing even when we know we are back to the start of a new day - but we are not who we were yesterday. We grow up, we mature, we age; people met, strangers became friends, friends became enemies, people disappeared from our lives...The coming of a new spring does not bring back those we lost to make it the same as last spring. We keep going back to the point we used to be but during these repeated cycles life is moving forward. Who ever said "you can never step into the same river twice"? When you think about life optimistically, spring will come back next year; the moon will be full again next month; the sun will come out tomorrow; and we will have the next minute... when you think about those that have changed, lost or gone, and will never be the same when coming back. Should we appreciate what is still aroud us? In Buddism, life is impermanent and unpredictable. It does not matter where we are going, as long as we are enjoying this very moment that will never come back again as the same.
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Mirror When my cat saw himself in the mirror, he was scared first and then started to play with the "cat"in the mirror. I thought he was a silly cat. I forgot my very first experience with a mirror. I might be just like him. I never liked physics but I have heard about the theory of antimatter. Then I started to think if there was another "me" somewhere. The consequence of the meeting of matter and antimatter is horrible but someone who has an artistic heart like me wishes the meeting of the two is philosophical and friendly. I touch the mirror, hoping "she" was the "another me". We can just talk about me. In Buddism, you need to spend some time every day to talk to yourself, rethinking about what you did, what you thought; appreciate what you have, and let go those things you can not keep. It is meditation. In the rational scientific world, a mirror can be the reflection of objects. In Buddism, every heart needs a mirror to reflect the behavior of the body. This winter collection, every single scarf is double-layered, made of two different colors. One side is the mirror of the other. Together, they make a whole.
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Natural way to beauty: In the east, there is a saying :"eat when it is time to eat." In the past when green houses did not exist, people ate vegetables and fruits only in their ripening seasons. Seasonal food is born for the season and good for our health in the season. Today, we seem happier than our ancestors because we eat whatever we want whenever we want it. However, our DNA did not change as fast as the technology, and our bodies are still built for the fishing and hunting time. Some new diseases are just caused by us doing whatever we want regardless of nature's law.
Spring
Here, I am introducing a very old and new concept for natural beauty and health: eat when it is time to eat or in other word: eat seasonally. If you eat a lot of watermelon in winter and eat a lot of clementines in summer, you are going the opposite way of our ancestors. Watermelon ripens in summer and citrus fruit's season is late fall to winter. Now that you can do it both ways does not mean it is a healthy way. If you want to have natural beauty, you have to follow nature's law, not the law we made.
Summer
Of course, seasonal fruits vary according to your location. You might be jealous of those who live near the tropical area when you live closer to the polar bears. Check out your local seasonal fruits. Eat local, eat seasonally.
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Fall
Winter
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