Hanji Happenings

Whilst on a holiday in Bali last week I began to wonder if anyone there did paper making.   After a lot of research I came up with only one place, Saraswati Papers.   It was started by an Australian, Kali Sali back in 1995 when she realized how much Bali was struggling with an ever growing pollution problem caused by a growing and modernizing society.   Her goal is to reduce the amount of waste so her company collects and recycles papers from hotels, schools, businesses and homes.   As they don't use any bleaches or chemicals to whiten the finished papers the collected papers are then  cut so as to keep all the plain white pieces that haven't been printed on to use on their own and those with black and coloured printing are put together for a different type of paper. The papers are boiled overnight in a large pot.  I loved the Hindu blessing on the side of the stove. Before be...

'Paper art is a modern art bred by traditions and crafts related to paper and, as the newest area in contemporary art, it blends traditions and innovations, experiments and high achievements. It challenges world authors to create a new language of expression and new technologies that enrich contemporary art.' Sofia Paper Art Fest Several years ago during one of my many visits to Korea I was asked if I was a member of IAPMA.I had no idea what they were talking about and as such, I almost brushed it aside until one day I decided to do some research to find  out more about this paper association.  IAPMA stands for the International Association of Hand Paper Makers and Paper Artists and when checking out the website  I was intrigued by the  work that was done  by it's members. In a nutshell this association is an International Community of paper artists who share a common love of making and working with paper. Two years ago now, not long aft...

Wow ! Wow ! Wow!   What a wonderful experience !! I've just returned from  2 weeks in Korea where I was invited to be involved in the filming of a 60 minute  ArTravel documentary for Arirang TV , an English broadcasting channel based in Korea and broadcast worldwide to give viewers a contemporary look at Korea. As I flew from Adelaide  to Seoul, I was excited but also a little unsure of what was going to be expected of me and the Hanji experiences they'd organized for my time in Korea. I knew I was going to be traveling around the country, it was going to be very interesting and would ultimately give me so much more knowledge about Hanji and its traditional roots .    I was met at the airport by the writer for this documentary, Jin Hee Lim  and my interpreter/manager 'Hayley' and they soon whisked me into Seoul and my Hotel for the next few days. After a short meeting I was pleased to get some sleep after my long fligh...

  Situated in the sleepy little village of Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat in Central France Le Moulin de Got offers a wide range of paper making and printing experiences.                        Windy lane down to the paper mill Le Moulin du Got - paper mill was built in 1522 and they manufactured paper  there up until 1954, a period of over four hundred years. For hundreds of years prior to the Industrial revolution the paper was made out of rags using hand made methods with the mill operating by using the power generated by the water in the streams. As the revolution slowly crept throughout Europe and into France  during the 18th and 19th centuries t he paper mills' manufacturing processes gradually changed, and paper making went from hand production methods to a greater reliance on steam or electrically powered machinery.  Le Moulin du Got...