Hanji Happenings

Well this is a momentous occasion when I can actually say this is my 100th blog post !!!   Who would have thought that there would be so much interest in Hanji and its Art.  Over the last 18 months it's seen nearly 20,000 visits and I've had numerous emails asking for help in how to get paper supplies both in, and outside of Korea, questions on where to go for lessons, how to make various household articles and I've even been asked by a western couple how to use Hanji at their wedding in Korea.  I'm delighted that I've been able to help so many people and that I've had the opportunity to explore this art even further than I thought I could.   I'm learning new things all the time and as I move forward it's a bit of self indulgence to take the time to reflect on where it all began a few years ago. At that time making articles out of Hanji was just a hobby that I enjoyed, but the more I worked with the paper the more I became enthralled at i...

My Hanji studio is finally set up thanks to my wonderful  husband who is a great handyman and so this week it was the venue for my hanji classes. I'm delighted that I now have my own space in which to teach and work on my Hanji. I now have a 3 metre long table, cupboards, book shelves, baskets of paper, drawers, a display cabinet and rulers all within easy reach.  It's going to make creating my new hanji designs so much easier ........

In traditional Korean Hanji art you can see many different designs of plants, animals, letters and insects. I'm sure you've wondered what they all symbolise as they are repeated so often and in many different ways.  In this post I just want to take a brief look at the lotus plant and what it symbolises for the Korean people. I've used this design on a few articles but I never really knew the full meaning of what it represented until I started doing some research for my book.  Even though many of us aren't Korean we can still use these designs and in so doing, translate a deeper meaning to our articles. Here are a just a few of my favourites from the easiest to the more difficult to cut out.                         The lotus flower symbolises creation, birth, liveability and reproduction and therefore it's one of the most  important symbols in both Korean culture a...

I'm fascinated by the Korean Folk paintings and especially those of the tiger.  They were all done by unknown artists and tend to depict the tiger as being friendly. Despite this I thought that the lamp I was to make needed them to appear behind panes(a cage). The Korean tiger is regarded by many as the divine spirit that guards the West, people in Korea consider the white tiger as a sacred creature in local folklore. A tiger that has overcome trials and tribulations and understands the world is known to turn white, becoming a white tiger. Although it is a sacred creature that doesn't harm people, it becomes atrocious when the ruler of the country conducts evil and inhumane deeds. Therefore, it has been told that powerful people become humble and rich people become generous when a white tiger appears. As such, in Korean history and culture, a tiger is regarded as a guardian that drives away evil spirit and a sacred creature that brings good luck – the sym...