Hanji Happenings

Wow!  Where has the time gone!!  Since retiring from teaching ESL here in the UAE I thought I'd have so much more time for writing on my blog and researching for my book  but although these things are important to me it seems that my time has been spent in more creative, hands on pursuits, and it's been great.  I've been working steadily at setting up and running my Hanji classes, designing worksheets for more complex Hanji projects as well as creating ideas for and making new items of my own design. These last few weeks I've been putting together some items for a  'Christmas' Craft stall.  I say that tongue in cheek because for anyone living in the Middle East we all know that Christmas isn't celebrated over here but because the UAE population is made up of 80%  expats from all over the world  it's  an important time for us to think of family and friends back home. It's a time for sending off our Christmas cards and p...

Every day brings on some new ideas and a new challenge. As part of my advanced Hanji classes I've designed a new worksheet for the students to make a divided keepsake box in which they can store small items. I've had one myself for the last 13 years and use it to keep my envelopes, cards and stamps all in one place and it works a treat.  Stationery is almost outdated these days because not many people actually write letters or send things by post but, there's always a time when you might need an envelope or a  handmade card for someone special and it's great to have them all in one  place and in a personalised box.  The box itself is 30 cms square and dividers can be placed inside  to whatever requirements you need, depending on the items that are to go in it. It could be used for old photos, jewellery, a memory box for storing trinkets or as a very nice gift for someone special. For the covering of the box I've used copies of some old Kor...

My latest project has been to make a large lamp but also to incorporate a few new techniques that I haven't used before.  I spoke briefly about this in a previous blog but I'd just like to add some more details for those who may be interested in working on a project like this themselves. Making the lamp was relatively easy as I just doubled the measurements of the large lamp instructions that I've already made up and added a few other details to strengthen the sides and improve the placement of the glass. I'm restricted by the 70 x 100 cm dimensions of the cardboard I can get here but even still, that allows me to make something of a reasonable size. The side panels were cut out of the 70 cm depth of the cardboard. I believe in some places you can get cardboard in larger sheets or custom made which I may need to look into in the future if I want to make anything too much larger. The construction went together really well but then I needed to decide w...

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...

Waterlily with the light on behind it Ever since I visited Korea last year I've wanted to try a new technique of making flowers out of layers of paper. With my busy schedule it didn't happen straight away but finally, nearly 18 months later, I've found the time to experiment and produce something along similar lines. I first saw these flowers in OM's studio in Seoul where she'd made some exhibition pieces, lamps, cupboards, tables etc that were covered in flowers similar to these and they were amazing. She  really inspired me therefore I needed to try making them myself.   I've just finished constructing a large metre high, 6 sided lamp and so I thought that this would be the ideal structure for adding some of these sculptured flowers. I wanted to keep the lamp decorations simple and yet stylish, decorated and yet understated and I think I've been able to achieve that. It's taken me a while to get to where I'm happy with wh...

You may be interested in reading this article on 'Hanji' by Hanji Natty written as the first in a series of three for the 'Strategic Promotion for Success team' for Etsy. It's great to see someone else with a passion for making things with Hanji !! Well done Natalie.

During my recent visit to India I took the opportunity to visit Kagzi handmade paper factory in the district of Sanganer, 16 kms south of  Jaipur in the state of Rahjastan.  It's famous for it's handmade paper industry, textile printing and for Jain temples. Around 10 handmade paper industries are present in Sanganer so I was interested to see the difference between how they made paper in India and the way the Korean 'Hanji' is made. The process of manually manufacturing handmade paper, in either country, has changed very little over the centuries, despite all the advances in technologies but it's useful to note, that paper making started in Korea somewhere between 200 - 500 AD whereas it was only introduced into India in 1728. Therefore, Korea has by far a much longer history of paper making. There are generally around five steps in making paper: 1. Separating the  fiber from the rest of raw materials. (e. g. cellulose from wood, cotton, etc.) 2. Be...

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...

I'm finally back at my desk for a short while before heading off to see my family in Australia and I'd like to  share with you one of the artistic highlights of my time in Europe.  Over the few months, prior to going on holiday, I began corresponding with a lovely lady, Ulla Brunn from Denmark. She wrote  telling me of her love for making boxes and her interest in the fact that I made boxes out of Hanji paper.  We exchanged some information and made plans to meet up in Copenhagen in July.  Her work was exquisite and I was very interested to talk to her about the methods she uses for making her boxes and to compare it with those I use in Hanji.  Ulla and myself looking at her boxes Some of Ulla's box designs are based on those of another Danish lady who lived in the late 18th and early 19th Century called Kamma Rahbek. Kamma's work can be seen in the Bakkehust Museum in Copenhagen so Ulla and I went together to visit, and see first h...

I'm taking a break  from Hanji for a while as I head off on summer break...... I don't know how easy it's going to be to post whilst I'm away but if I get an opportunity and I have anything I think you might be interested in, then you may see a post or two pop up in the next 6 weeks. If you live in the Northern hemisphere I hope you all enjoy your summer break  and if you're currently going through winter  in the Southern hemisphere my wish is that you'll find lots of Hanji projects to keep you going.

I've just received a new batch of papers from Korea and some, are quite different from anything I've ever used before.  I first saw them when I visited Korea last year and I excitedly brought some home and they've just sat in my drawer waiting for an inspirational project that I felt was right for them.  When this new batch arrived with  more different designs I felt that I should to try one out. It's a bleaching paper with a rubberised design on top.  I was unsure at first what I'd use it for and how well it'd mold to the cardboard but, even though it's fairly thick,  as long as I applied enough glue it was as easy to use as any other paper. I decided to make a bowl with a lid and this is how it looks.  There are several different designs in this type of paper, from Chinese calligraphy to waves and geometric designs and this, a classic looking flowery one, but they're all stunning and I'm looking forward to usin...