Hanji Happenings

Here is a new Hanji lamp I've made especially for my current exhibition. I wanted to mix some old techniques of cutouts with one of my  newer, more modern looking paper
s. The paper has threads of green, blue yellow and pink mixed in with a pale blue pulp that's been rather sparsely placed over a white background. I've placed a butterfly of varying colour shades on each of its sides so that it looks like they're trying to get into the windows of the lamp. The butterfly means joy and conjugal love in Korean folklore so I’ve combined both the traditional and non traditional aspects of Hanji to highlight the intertwining of modern Korean society with their traditional past.


Here are some of the pictures I created for the Hanji Exhibition. They've been well received and I wanted to share with you all some of the thoughts behind the designs. I've put my own interpretations into the pictures combining Joseon Dynasty paintings, a selection of Hanji papers and cutouts of symbolic animals and patterns. INSPIRATION - To show different elements of the lives of the traditional Korean people.    Strength & Harmony - 
mustard & brown This earthy toned collage of Hanji patchwork includes a  Min Hwa (Korean Folklore) painting of a woman sewing which is representative of domestic harmony. The black geometrical cutout represents times when everything goes smoothly and is in harmony with itself whereas the tiger symbolises those times when life is tough  and people need amazing strength to get through.
 Work & Constancy
 - blue In this blue Hanji patchwork  I wanted to show the commitment to hard work by the Ko...

My Hanji exhibition is officially open and it was a memorable evening on Thursday night when people gathered around at Mrs Harris' Art Studio to  look at Hanji crafts. There was a wonderful atmosphere of anticipation as people came by to see what Hanji was all about, to have drinks & nibbles and to hear some impromptu speeches in an informal setting outside the shop.  Here in Australia, the Thursday before Easter is NOT the ideal time to have an Exhibition opening. Many people take the opportunity to escape the city for the 4 day holiday break but with time restraints on getting the Exhibition set up, and to have it open for a full month before I head to Korea, the Gallery owner and myself took a gamble and were pleasantly surprised at the turn out it attracted.  Family, friends and strangers came and were amazed at the broad range of articles that can be made with Hanji and were fascinated by it's lightness, durability and practicality for everyday use...

The invitation that's being sent out for my Hanji Exhibition here in Adelaide. I've been working hard to get everything organised for this event and I really hope that it turns out to be a great introduction to the craft  for Adelaidians. It's a bit daunting not having any idea as to the reaction people will have to this 'new' art form (for Australians but certainly not for the Koreans) but I can only hope it's met with a positive response. I've been in contact with the Korean Community here and was told that they don't know anyone else who does Hanji here. The Secretary of the Adelaide Korean Community has said that they're going to advertise the event in over 8,000 flyers to be distributed in the next few weeks around the suburbs of Adelaide. They've been very supportive and I look forward to developing a good relationship with them in the future. I'll keep you posted during the coming weeks on what's happening dur...

I had a query this week from someone who doesn't live in Korea anymore but he's wanting to know how to make this lamp. So in case anyone else was wondering, it's quite a simple process which I will share with you. Get a piece of perspex, or a very sturdy plastic sheet around 2 - 3mm thick and cut into 4 equal sizes, depending on the size of the lamp you want to make. Glue the sides together with an instant glue to make a perfect square and being careful not to get the glue outside of the joins or on your fingers. Paper the perspex using one whole piece to minimize the joins in the paper. Leave to dry. Cut a base out of 3mm thick cardboard so the sides fit into it and it has a small plinth. (Don't forget to put the hole in the base for the electrical fittings). Cut small strips of cardboard for around the outside. One with a hole in it for the electric cord to come out of. Cover the strips of cardboard with different coloured papers. Glue the strips onto ...

How lucky am I !!  When the grandchildren come to visit they love getting up into my Hanji (Craft) room and making things.  I usually have some small kits they can put together and they love creating in a room especially designed for craft with everything on hand.             Last week I received a lovely surprise from Isaac, my six year old grandson. He loves drawing and doing craft with me so he drew a picture of us both working together in my Hanji room.  I'm sitting on a chair next to a green table and he's sitting next to me doing his craft work. When he and his sister visited us in the UAE last year they made a small Hanji pot each and he  decorated his with cut out soccer balls. He loves it and keeps it on his desk at home to keep his pens and pencils in one place.         His picture is precious and it just goes to show how special it is to ...

This week I've tried to maximize my time and instead of cutting Hanji items out of cardboard by hand, I decided to piece together some of the kits I've collected over the years. Many of these kits are more than 10 years old and have been with me since I left Korea and during my travels to different countries around the world. These days I usually cut out my own items using a thick cardboard and a very sharp craft knife using one of the patterns I've drawn up.  The beauty of this is that because of a lot of trial and correction over the years I now know that everything fits nicely. There's always the odd occasion when lines aren't cut as precisely as they should be and small tweaks need to be made, but they're usually very easily correctable. What I've found is that I can't assume that the kits are going to be better and quicker as well as producing a more precise article. You would expect that this would be the case with machinery doi...