Hanji Happenings

Beginner Hanji Classes  When:                   May 2nd - June 6th                             10.30 am - 12.30pm Where:                 Station master's Art Gallery ' Red Hen' workshop                            20 South Terrace,                             Strathalbyn, South Australia Phone:               +61(08) 8536 4263 Level:                ...

Korea is and always has been, a country full of surprises.  Recently I was told by a Hanji friend about a Paper  Museum called Museum SAN (Space Art & Nature) and the indication was that it's a must see for anyone who is visiting Korea and loves paper. ' San ' also means mountain in Korean so it has a double edged meaning.                         It's a bit of a trek to get to from Seoul because first you need to take a 1 1/2 hr train ride  to Wonju,  a city renown in its own right for the quality of it's Hanji , then it's a 17 km taxi ride out to Oak Valley. This place is well known amongst locals as a ski resort during the winter months and a lovely mountain retreat during the summer. We had a seamless trip on the very efficient Korea railway system and taxi services, and soon arrived with great expectations of this place.  I've visited several H...

Here are some of the pictures I created for the Hanji Exhibition. They've been well received and I wanted to share with you all some of the thoughts behind the designs. I've put my own interpretations into the pictures combining Joseon Dynasty paintings, a selection of Hanji papers and cutouts of symbolic animals and patterns. INSPIRATION - To show different elements of the lives of the traditional Korean people.    Strength & Harmony - 
mustard & brown This earthy toned collage of Hanji patchwork includes a  Min Hwa (Korean Folklore) painting of a woman sewing which is representative of domestic harmony. The black geometrical cutout represents times when everything goes smoothly and is in harmony with itself whereas the tiger symbolises those times when life is tough  and people need amazing strength to get through.
 Work & Constancy
 - blue In this blue Hanji patchwork  I wanted to show the commitment to hard work by the Ko...

My Hanji exhibition is officially open and it was a memorable evening on Thursday night when people gathered around at Mrs Harris' Art Studio to  look at Hanji crafts. There was a wonderful atmosphere of anticipation as people came by to see what Hanji was all about, to have drinks & nibbles and to hear some impromptu speeches in an informal setting outside the shop.  Here in Australia, the Thursday before Easter is NOT the ideal time to have an Exhibition opening. Many people take the opportunity to escape the city for the 4 day holiday break but with time restraints on getting the Exhibition set up, and to have it open for a full month before I head to Korea, the Gallery owner and myself took a gamble and were pleasantly surprised at the turn out it attracted.  Family, friends and strangers came and were amazed at the broad range of articles that can be made with Hanji and were fascinated by it's lightness, durability and practicality for everyday use...

The invitation that's being sent out for my Hanji Exhibition here in Adelaide. I've been working hard to get everything organised for this event and I really hope that it turns out to be a great introduction to the craft  for Adelaidians. It's a bit daunting not having any idea as to the reaction people will have to this 'new' art form (for Australians but certainly not for the Koreans) but I can only hope it's met with a positive response. I've been in contact with the Korean Community here and was told that they don't know anyone else who does Hanji here. The Secretary of the Adelaide Korean Community has said that they're going to advertise the event in over 8,000 flyers to be distributed in the next few weeks around the suburbs of Adelaide. They've been very supportive and I look forward to developing a good relationship with them in the future. I'll keep you posted during the coming weeks on what's happening dur...

 2015 is shaping up to be one of my most exciting Hanji years yet. I'll be holding a Hanji exhibition here in Adelaide entitled 'Hanji - from paper to purpose', from April 3rd to 26th at Mrs Harris' Shop Gallery in Torrensville, just 10 mins from the city of Adelaide. This means a lot of work between now and then as I look forward to making some new pieces of Hanji, including a new photographic collection as well as a Traditional Korean and a modern collection. I will not only display and have for sale pieces of my Hanji but also, I'll be explaining what Hanji is all about with posters and pictures of paper making, along with hands on demonstrations and an audio visual display. As far as I'm aware this is a first for Adelaide  and I look forward to including the Korean community in this event. After the exhibition I'll be heading to South Korea to attend the Jeonju Hanji Culture festival which is expected to take place on the first week...

Tomorrow I'm heading off to Korea for a week with two of my Hanji ladies, Tricia and Anna and a few husbands. The ladies are going to explore the Hanji shops and meet up with like minded friends who love doing Hanji whilst our husbands check out the Art district of Insadong. It's been two years since I was there and I'm looking forward to seeing any new papers that are available and checking out the latest designs in the Hanji paper, Hanji craft creations and hardware. It's always much nicer to be able to see and feel the papers rather than ordering online.  I also have a long list of things to get for other people so it's going to be a challenge to find everything, but I'll do what I can. On Sunday at 4 pm I'll be giving a talk at Jankura Artspace in Itaewon, Seoul called 'Hanji - after Korea'.  This came about because  so many people have been asking me questions about  Hanji. If you're in Seoul do come along. It'll be aimed at  exp...

UPCOMING HANJI EVENTS  Here are a couple of interesting events  that involve Hanji in one form or another that are going to be on this month. So if you live in the United States or are going to be visiting you may be interested in checking them out. MAKE YOUR WISH ON HANJI   Sunday Feb. 9th, 1 pm at Flushing Town Hall, New York 137-35 Northern Blvd, Flushing New York, 11354, USA As part of the Asian New Year Celebrations you will have an opportunity to get Korean folk paintings drawn on hanji (Korean traditional mulberry paper). Write your wishes for the new year on hanji and create a one-of-a-kind art piece to take home. Cost:  $10 (materials included)  This one looks like it'd be good for the children and adults alike. HANJI: Contemporary Korean Paper Art   Feb. 6th - April 13th The Muckenthaler Cultural Center, 1201 West Malvern Avenue, Fullerton, CA 92833, USA Artists: Young Hoon Kim...

I don't normally write about any comments I get regarding my blog posts but this week I had an enlightening comment from an Artist called Tahiti Pehrson. I must admit I hadn't heard of him before  until he saw the article I posted on Psaligraphy by Karen Bit Vejle and he commented, 'Beautiful work. I had never heard that word: Psaligraphy. Had no idea I was a Psaligraphist.' I was intrigued to see what he did so I checked out his website   and found his amazing work.  "Yes, you certainly are a Psaligraphist Tahiti", although the Dictionary definition for Psaligraphy is, 'the art of cutting silhouettes out of paper' which doesn't quite seem to explain the intricacies of your work in my opinion.  Tahiti is from Northern California and his recent pieces have explored the interconnectivity between the fragility of paper and physical structures. Many of his pieces can be seen at his exhibitions in the States and the UK as well as...

I've finally finished my Hanji picture set. There are three pictures and each one features a different cutout that is a hanji design.  No paper wastage  !! You need to do a series of cutouts on the same piece of paper and you'll end up with the template for your pictures  plus a lot of cutout designs that you can use for your projects.   From there you have a variety of different options of how to personalise the templates.  I've chosen three different styles, one using different colours set in a pattern and another where they were placed at random and thirdly using a single colour. This was a fun project and one you could try for yourselves !!

A different idea of how to use Hanji paper. Cut  shapes out of black paper and place coloured hanji paper underneath, then frame them. I'm in the process of making a set of three.  One is framed and the others are currently being designed, a fun project. A great personal gift for someone. Hanji art ready to be mounted and framed Framed hanji picture

Well this is a momentous occasion when I can actually say this is my 100th blog post !!!   Who would have thought that there would be so much interest in Hanji and its Art.  Over the last 18 months it's seen nearly 20,000 visits and I've had numerous emails asking for help in how to get paper supplies both in, and outside of Korea, questions on where to go for lessons, how to make various household articles and I've even been asked by a western couple how to use Hanji at their wedding in Korea.  I'm delighted that I've been able to help so many people and that I've had the opportunity to explore this art even further than I thought I could.   I'm learning new things all the time and as I move forward it's a bit of self indulgence to take the time to reflect on where it all began a few years ago. At that time making articles out of Hanji was just a hobby that I enjoyed, but the more I worked with the paper the more I became enthralled at i...

I'm fascinated by the Korean Folk paintings and especially those of the tiger.  They were all done by unknown artists and tend to depict the tiger as being friendly. Despite this I thought that the lamp I was to make needed them to appear behind panes(a cage). The Korean tiger is regarded by many as the divine spirit that guards the West, people in Korea consider the white tiger as a sacred creature in local folklore. A tiger that has overcome trials and tribulations and understands the world is known to turn white, becoming a white tiger. Although it is a sacred creature that doesn't harm people, it becomes atrocious when the ruler of the country conducts evil and inhumane deeds. Therefore, it has been told that powerful people become humble and rich people become generous when a white tiger appears. As such, in Korean history and culture, a tiger is regarded as a guardian that drives away evil spirit and a sacred creature that brings good luck – the sym...

I now have all the Hanji books I can track down on Hanji that are written in English.   It comes to the grand total of two. Please if anyone knows of any others please let me know!! Both books were published this year with 'Hanji' by Lee Seung-chul, in March, 2012 and 'Hanji Unfurled' by Aimee Lee, in October, 2012. As I said in an earlier post the other book I ordered, 'Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea' by Kim Youngna is an older publication from 2005 and I found no direct references to Hanji as an art-form.  HANJI was written by Lee Seung-chul and  it's been translated into English.  The cover states that this is .'..  the first  accessible yet comprehensive guide to the material experts consider superior to Gutenberg's metal-print paper'.  Professor Lee is a world renown expert on Hanji paper and natural dyeing methods and his soft covered book contains over 300 photo and illustrations with some Hanji paper samples...