Shedding Some Light

This is Kat's newest creation, a simple lamp with a large tiger paper cutting. Stunning! Once she had this one done, we came up with a bunch of ideas that could work with this... pretty limitless possibilities.

Now, if we just had time to try some of them.

A New Identity

Our friend Barb returned last week from a wonderful trip to Korea with her family. She braved the hot and humid weather to do some shopping in the artists' district in Seoul, Insadong, for us. Kat and I bought chops on our last trip (think rubber stamps only much more cool) of our names in Korean. But we had hoped Barb could locate a vendor who could make Hanji Crew chops. She did an amazing job! The chops (two of them, one large, one small) are a work of art. Even the packaging was gorgeous.

Here's what it looks like... we'll be able to mark our items with this. It's our new identity -- a signature.

Of course, what's a trip to Insadong without buying some paper? Again, Barb showed she's got what it takes. A lovely selection that Kat has no doubt already begun to turn into something special.

THANKS BARB!

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!

Korean Dancers

One of our best-selling items this year has been the Korean dancer glass pendant -- Kat's little works of art. I know we have a soft spot for these pendants because the Chang Mi Korean Dance group has been a big -- make that huge -- part of our families' lives for years.

We had a work day on Sunday, and Kat was in the process of adding the color behind the intricately cut dancer designs. She "dressed" the ladies in lovely traditional colors. This process requires patience and a steady hand. After she cut the initial outside design, she cuts the colored hanji paper just a fraction of a inch larger than the opening in the design and tacks it together with hanji paste (a flour and water concoction). Check out the parade of 20-some dancers she had at the end of the day.

New Pendants

These domed glass pendants are my most recent addition to the Hanji Crew's inventory. The designs are a bit smaller than 1 inch in diameter, and it's great to have a new project that takes advantage of our traditional round designs. I'm loving the size and shape of these new pieces.

A Passion for Paper

I first brought my daughters to Korean Saturday school in 1994 in an attempt to bring a taste of Korean culture into their lives, not just for a week in the summer at Korean Culture Camp, but all year. And yes, the girls did learn some history, get a taste of Korean language, make a first step into Korean dance, and most importantly, meet new friends. But perhaps the biggest take-away from our years at Korean Institute of Minnesota was my introduction to hanji, Korea's traditional papercraft that uses a strong-fibered paper made from the bark of mulberry trees native to Korea's mountainsides.

The Saturday school classes for adopted Korean kids met for three hours. It was across town, too far away to drop them off and return. There were two parent classes offered the semester we joined: Korean language and hanji class. I had no idea what hanji class was, but the thought of joining the language class was too intimidating. What a good choice I made! We had an excellent instructor from Korea, and to this day, when I'm cutting a design or assembling a box, I can still hear her voice in my head, encouraging us all to guide our x-acto knives exactly on the pattern lines. Not 1/8" off; not 1/16" off. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly.

It has gone from hobby to obsession, and along the way, I've picked up (some would say brainwashed) others to join me in the pursuit of all things hanji. We make it, sell it, share it, teach it, and most of all, love it. There's always something new to hanji, and this will be a fun way to document our progress.