Hanji Happenings

 Here is an interesting article   from the Korea Herald newspaper yesterday about  a craftsman who makes Hanji screens, a very important part of the paper making process. .   Master craftsmen inspire with fine touches 2011-10-30 18:57   N.K. shows signs of cutting in on overs... SNS battle rages in mayoral race Lee: Protecting ’socially weak’ top gov... Court rejects arrest warrant for ex-vic... N.K. speeds up work to spruce up Pyongy... Mayoral runners strive for public poll... Korea, Japan expand currency swaps Obama to sign FTAs on Friday Lee to hold summit with Japan＇s prime m... About 130 gangsters nabbed in first week of police crackdown Billionaire battle: Russians take feud to UK court Comedian-turned-director slapped with exit ban over embezzlement charges Philippines welcomes symbolic ‘7 billionth baby’ Cain says he opposes abortion without exceptions Korean TV makers nab 50 pct of U.S. market share Yu Bae-geun

This is a lamp that I made a few months ago.  I combined different elements to construct a circular lamp with perspex windows. The shell was covered with a small geometric pattern whilst the windows were covered with a plain, very pale pink paper.  The windows were decorated with cutouts that were filled with different coloured papers.

 As I've mentioned before I've been following the blog of  'The constant crafter'.  She's currently making a Hanji Korean Medicine Cabinet and is posting every few days to show what she's up to and how she's been achieving this mammoth task. Today she not only posted on her blog but she has included a video of how to cut out Hanji Paper to make intricate design. I'd like to share this with you. Here is the link to her video. shar

I've set myself a challenge and  decided to make some things to sell at a Christmas stall here in RAK at the Hilton Hotel.  Pat and Barbara from my Hanji group are going to contribute as well so it should be lots of fun when we get it all together. This annual Christmas event is run by the expatriate women of Ras Al Khaimah and is always an interesting event where we see a variety of handicrafts, made by the men and women of this small community as well as some  from Dubai. It signals the run up to Christmas in a city that doesn't have shops filled with Christmas decorations nor any outward indication of what is an important Christian event for so many of us. I'm experimenting with new paper designs and continuing to perfect using some of my own photographs printed onto Hanji paper to create unique items.  It involves many steps in the Hanji process from cutting out the cardboard, glueing them all together, taping, printing the papers and then delicately placing i

Our Hanji group working at Julie's house on Sunday evening

Check out this amazing blog which details the making of a Hanji Korean Medicine Cabinet. It's written by an American lady who's spending 12 months living in Seoul, South Korea and she's taking classes in Hanji. Her  posts give step by step details of what she's been doing and it makes a great story both academically and photographically. Check out her latest(No. 10) post   here.

Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory and Educational Foundation The Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory and Educational Foundation is an Ohio non-profit art center dedicated to the preservation of handmade papermaking and the art of the book. Morgan Conservatory will pursue its educational and charitable purposes by serving the greater community locally, nationally, and internationally with sustainable practices in an innovative green environment . This Foundation in Ohio in the US is about to have a fully operational Paper Mill dedicated to preserving the Art of papermaking using traditional methods.  Check out their website http://morganconservatory.org/ . They will be selling paper online so for those of us who live outside Korea and who want to get a good quality handmade paper it may be worth a look. If the quality is good, It may aleviate the language problems we have trying to purchase from a Korean website.

Barbara, Suy, Jan (Me), Anna and Juliet.  Last night we took a rest from making Hanji and went out for a Japanese meal at Akoya down on the corniche. Unfortunately Tricia and Fran couldn't make it but I hope we'll be able to do this again soon girls. It gave us an opportunity to regroup and work out just what we're planning to make for the rest of the semester. A Christmas stall is one plan so look out for some new designs coming up...........

This is an easy and interesting box to make Cut out a strip of 3mm thick cardboard then score it 7 times to form 4 triangles at the top and 4 triangles at the bottom. The width of the cardboard will determine the size of your finished box.    Put the paper you want onto the inside of the box then glue it together to form a square at the base. Cut out a base - glue the inside paper you want onto one side then glue the base to the sides. Cover all joins with 1cm wide masking tape. Cut out 3 squares to make the lid. Punch holes in the centre for the knob.         1  - that fits inside the box               2 - that is a little larger 3 - as extra decoration for the lid. Glue the squares together to make the lid. Paper the outside of the box. and the lid. Glue strips of paper over all edges. Cut some designs in black paper to add to the box. Varnish the box. Attach a knob into the lid.