Hanji

Hanji, or handmade Korean paper, is an amazing art medium. It's used very similar to decoupage and paper machete, but also as wallpaper, box and furniture covering, lamp shades, armor (in ancient times - I kid you not!), at present as fashion clothing, and a whole lot more. I took a couple of piddly hanji one-hour classes but the first time I connected with hanji as an exciting art form was in an afternoon art class through the Yongsan Global Village Center. The teacher was well-prepared but mostly the item she had chosen for us to paper and decorate with hanji was fabulous! It wasn't just a simple pencil cup, but something very practical! My creation:

After creating that, I felt inspired to get a more intense look at hanji as an artform, and one day while passing in the underground passage of Anguk Station, Seoul, stumbled across a hanji shop with a couple of women inside, so popped in. And wahlah! The lady not only sold hanji furniture and desk materials that she had made (and lamps, vases, cosmetic cabinets, etc!), but also taught month-long classes. And that was how I spent two hours a day during a winter vacation!

After taking the month-long class, I was so hooked on creating new and unusual things that I wanted to teach my mom (and some of her friends as well). I took supplies home to the US for a few afternoons of fun, and while on my visit, made a set of hanji living room items for my mom.

And also covered a tissue box form with hanji but used western motifs (woodsies under the hanji to give the hanji a pattern).

And then designed and made my own lamp from scratch. Materials — plywood, hanji, bottle lamp electricals, and then pasting supplies.