Hanji Happenings

This week I've tried to maximize my time and instead of cutting Hanji items out of cardboard by hand, I decided to piece together some of the kits I've collected over the years. Many of these kits are more than 10 years old and have been with me since I left Korea and during my travels to different countries around the world. These days I usually cut out my own items using a thick cardboard and a very sharp craft knife using one of the patterns I've drawn up.  The beauty of this is that because of a lot of trial and correction over the years I now know that everything fits nicely. There's always the odd occasion when lines aren't cut as precisely as they should be and small tweaks need to be made, but they're usually very easily correctable. What I've found is that I can't assume that the kits are going to be better and quicker as well as producing a more precise article. You would expect that this would be the case with machinery doi...

Many people have asked me exactly what is needed to begin doing Hanji crafts so I thought that this year maybe it's time to get back to the basics. You don't need a lot of tools and they can be added to over time as your interest grows and you feel the need to make larger pieces and embark on bigger projects.  You can begin with just 12 items, some of which are shown here and many you probably already have at home. A pattern or a kit  Hanji papers  3 mm thick cardboard  Sharp pencil   Metal ruler 1 cm wide masking tape  Small craft knife  Craft Knife & blades  Soft brushes  Contact Adhesive glue  Wallpaper paste  Cutting mat A PATTERN OR A KIT Worksheets are available  in some Korean books or through my website . You can buy pre cut kits from shops in Korea which makes the process of learning the craft much easier especially for beginners as the marking out of the cardboard, cutting an...

This week I started a new beginner's Hanji  class here in the UAE and to help the new students get started on their journey with the craft I've put together some Starter kits.  We more than likely have different items around the house that have been used for other crafts and activities but often some are half used, others worn out and yet others not quite suitable. I don't know about you but if I'm starting something new I like to begin things afresh with the right tools to do the job. Here in Ras Al Khaimah, a town 90 kms north of Dubai, most items needed to do hanji are available somewhere but sometimes they're in a small and dusty shop down a side street and at other times at a large and overwhelming 'Library,' as the stationary stores are called here. In other words it can take a bit of hunting to find exactly what you want. With the temperatures in the low 40Cs every day here at the moment, chasing around from to store to store isn't...