Hanji Happenings

 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...

In the last few weeks I've finally found the time to concentrate on setting up my Hanji business.  Unrealistically I want everything to happen at once. I'd like to find a place to conduct classes and to be instantly organised so that I can get started. My mind knew that it wasn't going to happen but my heart was really hoping otherwise. Despite my slight despondency I've had an interesting and very enjoyable week of networking with some of the local artists including painters, ceramicist and print-makers  as well as meeting up with a few of my neighbors.  One of them took me to look through a local warehouse that's currently being fitted out for an Aboriginal artist to hold exhibitions in and it'll also be occupied by a print-maker who wants a part of it as her studio but unfortunately, the rest of the space is already fully taken. This area of Brompton and Bowden has so many lovely old shopfronts that are not being used so I've knocked ...

Sadly I'll be leaving the UAE in a few weeks time to settle back in Australia. It's going to be a huge move for my husband and I after an absence of nearly 15 years from our homeland but one that I'm looking forward to as I'm reunited with my family and I start a new chapter of teaching and learning Hanji back in Adelaide, Australia. Sue Fine, Anna Bailey, Diana Johnson, Monica Sturgess, Tricia O'Shea, myself, Christina & Arlette Van Veerdegem Over the last few months here in RAK, and with the last of the Hanji classes  winding down, the students  had been thinking of what to do to as a final farewell before I leave.  Diana piped up with, 'Why don't we have a Hanji Exhibition?'. I thought about it  and very quickly decided that there couldn't be any better  way to celebrate the classes than by getting everyone together and showcasing the students' amazing achievements.    I ran it past a few people and they were excited at the id...

I've just returned from a very successful trip to South Korea where I was asked to give a talk titled, 'Hanji - After Korea' which was a presentation on how to continue doing Hanji once you've left and moved overseas.  At first I was quite apprehensive but I felt that I'd learnt so much myself over the last 12 years since leaving Korea that my journey was worth sharing if it was going to help others who wanted to follow in the same path.                             People are creative in different ways and expats in Korea are no exception therefore some decide to try   Hanji crafts during their stay in the country. Why? Because its different to anything they've ever done before. It looks beautiful, it's practical and it's a part of the traditional Korean experience. That can be difficult in itself as getting a Hanji teacher even in Korea, that they can communicate easily with and ask questions about...

Work with my students is well underway for the construction of their Korean Hanji cabinet but an interesting event happened last night when one of them turned up for class with her cabinet sealed and ready to cut out the door. Here's a little bit of insight into a project like this: when constructing a piece of furniture out of cardboard its important to ensure that the design enables it to be sturdy enough to put things into, and place things on top of, the finished article. All surfaces needed to be cut out of a double thickness of cardboard, which were then glued together to give a total thickness of 6 mm.  This made working with it quite difficult at times as it was that much harder to cut out and it required  a lot more patience and muscle power to complete the job.  Once the job of cutting it out and putting it all together was done then the doors are to be cut out and later they will be refitted back into the cabinet. This process has taken a couple ...

Luana Rubin, Pam Holland and myself Well I have finally stopped travelling for a while and I now plan on having more time to devote to myself, my family and to Hanji. I've been fortunate enough to have spent the last 3 months travelling throughout Europe, on holiday with my husband, then back to Australia to spend time with my three children and their families and on Saturday I returned from a 2 week trip to India with my sister, Pam Holland, and her friend, Luana Rubin. I have so many fresh ideas for what I'd like to achieve in the next few years that I'm feeling quite excited at what the future holds for myself and my love of Hanji. Before travelling I was wondering how I'd cope being away from my Hanji studio for such a long time and not being able to create something tangible everyday but in heinsight, I think it's done the soul good to redirect my energies and to can come back to what I love best, afresh and renewed. During my tr...

Thursday evening was the opening of my Hanji studio and I was joined by many of my students and friends for champagne and nibbles to mark the occasion.    It's taken a while to set it up but I'm delighted with the results and I now have a space in which to teach, be creative and explore the Hanji arts further. It marks a new beginning for me and my Hanji crafts and  I'm really looking forward to using the studio and the space it provides.  Thank you everyone !!

Here is a list of International Hanji Events for 2013 and their descriptions, written by the respective or ganisers    ........... if you know of any others  I'd love to hear from you so we can all share in what is going on in this every globalising world of Hanji. KOREA        Jeonju Hanji Festiva l   I've been to this event and it's absolutely amazing.  The Hanji  Artists   from around     the country come together to show their best work   for the year. I remember when I was in Korea my teacher was   showing her work and it was hailed as a must visit   event for anyone   interested in Hanji. The Korean Men and 'Ajimah's' are very  serious   about producing the  most amazing pieces of  furniture,  boxes,   screens  and lamps.  I was  blown away by what I saw.      When: - p...