Mother and Child

I had dinner a few weeks ago with my friend Gail. She admired the hanji pendant I was wearing and asked me to make one for her.

The design is one of my favorites. In its full glory, the cut pattern is a traditional Korean farm house, and in the doorway, a mother sits holding a baby. As with all hanji designs, this is a single piece of paper, a cut design you can pick up and move.

For the pendant, I cut just the very center portion of the design. First, I photocopy the design (in this case, it's from one of my traditional Korean hanji design books). I cut about an inch around that center section I need. Next, I stack up two or three pieces of hanji paper, in this case some black and some brown, and I staple the photocopied pattern to the hanji paper.

Using an x-acto knife, I cut out the design. Again, the whole cut pattern will be in one piece -- as long as I stay true to the pattern!

I cut colored paper to attach to the underside of the cut design, stained-glass style. When I'm making a pendant, I use some Mod Podge (blast from the past, right? From decopage days?), to attach the colors to the design. Once the colors are in place, I Mod Podge the entire design, sealing the paper so I can add glaze without breaking down any of the paper fibers.

When the design is dry, I add a few drops of a 3-D lacquer and attach a glass tile. I let that dry, then cut the excess paper from around the tile. Add a bail (hanger) and it's done!