One Artist’s Audacious Pursuit of Traditional Korean Hanji

A very interesting and inspiring video about Aimee Lee, an Hanji artist from New York City who is an amazing ambassador of Hanji paper, and culture, in the world.

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDM6E784Bxs

Speechless.

This month, HanjiNaty is taking part in a collective multidisciplinary exhibition titled "Speechless", presented at the RedBox Gallery in Jeonju, until July 5, 2017.



"Speechless" is an exploration of words through images. While English is a language with a massive vocabulary base, there are still words existing in other languages that do not translate directly into this global tongue. 

Foreign words, with no direct translation into English, are expressed through visual arts and poetry.
On the left: "Yugen" created by Natalie Thibault (Hanji Naty).

In this exhibition, seven English speaking expat artists living in Jeollabuk-do composed pieces using some of these words, trying to depict feelings from concepts that do not exist in their own native language. 

The artists of "Speechless". From left to right : Anjee DiSanto, Olivia Laurel, Natalie Thibault (HanjiNaty),
Bonnie Cunningham, Damien Sullivan. Absent from photo: Ash Dean and Sarah Hodgkiss.

The show includes more than two dozens works of art: oil paintings, ink drawings, poetry displayed on traditional Korean scrolls, mixed-media artworks and, of course, Hanji paper cuttings.

The artists were given the creative freedom to come up with any concept that the chosen foreign words inspired them. Some works are more evocative and symbolic, while others chose a more concrete approach.

The "Speechless" exhibitions includes about 30 works of art, created by seven expat artists living in Jeollabuk-do.

The pieces of art are displayed in alphabetical order, to present a sort of "creative dictionary" of the chosen foreign words. The visitors were then invited to explore this beautiful glossary, that goes from "Boketto" to "Yugen", in which they could read the original meaning of the words and let the artists take them into the special and unique world they created around or about every single word.

For this exhibition I created three pieces, inspired by Japanese and French words. For the first time, I chose to display Hanji paper cuttings between two sheets of acrylic, rather than create a 3D object, such as a chest, a box or a lamp. I made the creative decision to let the paper speak for itself, and this new freedom led me to some incredible results.

"Komorebi" is a Japanese word that describes the beauty of sunlight filtering through the trees. 

It evokes the dreamlike translucent interplay between the light and the leaves.

"Yugen" is a Japanese word that evokes in a poetic way the profound and mysterious
sense of the beauty of the universe, along with the sad beauty of human suffering.

"Retrouvailles" is a French word that refers to the overwhelming joy, happiness

and excitement you feel upon reuniting with someone after being apart for a long time.

It was a very interesting experience for me to work on flat surfaces, rather than 3D objects. It allowed me to let the paper speak more freely, and it almost acquired a movement of its own.

I would have liked to create more pieces for the show, but the lack of time forced me to limit myself to three artworks. I am hoping that new occasions will arise soon for me to create new pieces, inspired by other evocative and beautifully exotic words.

Here are some pictures of the gallery, show, and amazing artists who took part in this great creative adventure:

RedBox Gallery is located on the edge of the Jeonbuk University Campus.

Left to right: "Kintsugi" by Anjee DiSanto, "koi no yokan" by Olivia Laurel, "Iktsuarpok" by Bonnie Cunningham.

Amazing artists! What a joy to be part of that creative bunch!

Left to right: "Shuushi" (oil painting by Damien Sullivan), "Solregn" (photographic triptych by Anjee DiSanto)
and "Tosca" (oil painting by Damien Sullivan). 

"Duende" by Bonnie Cunningham.

 (Jeollabuk-do, South Korea). The exhibition is open from June 22nd to July 5th, from 10am to 6pm seven days a week. Admission is free.

Directions to get to the gallery:



I really hope you have a chance to visit this truly unique art show! If you do, please make sure to leave a note in our guestbook. Enjoy!

2017 Jeonju Hanji Festival~ It starts tomorrow!

I am excited to announce that HanjiNaty will once more participate in the Hanji festival in Jeonju, in the province of Jeollabuk-do, South Korea!

The 2017 edition of the festival will be held from May 19 (Fri) to May 21 (Sun), in two locations, downtown Jeonju. The core of the festival will once again happen in the site adjacent to the Korean Cultural Center in Jeonju, but a satellite location in the Hanok village will allow more visitors to enjoy what the festival has to offer.

New! 2 locations for the festival!

An exciting change will make the 2017 edition especially interesting! The festival will be held in two different locations: most of the activities will be held on the festival site (close the the Cultural Center) and a satellite market will be installed in the heart of the Hanok village, Jeonju's most popular neighborhood!

The Hanji open market and the hands-on zone will be duplicated to accommodate more visitors. Paper and culture enthusiasts will have a chance to get to make interesting discoveries in both places, either by creating Hanji items themselves or by choosing to buy handcrafted items, unique gifts, or sumptuous high-quality Hanji paper.

A variety of events and activities to enjoy

Once again the festival visitors will have a chance to enjoy an interesting variety of cultural events and activities on the festival site. Different performances will be given on the main stages, including the famous and popular Hanji fashion show.

Visitors will also have a chance to visit the cultural garden, admire the Hanji sculptures and lanterns installed on site, including a giant Hanji paper tree that was recently erected.

HanjiNaty will be there!


HanjiNaty will be in both locations for the long weekend of the Festival. Come to say hello and take a look at our selection of handcrafted jewelry (earrings, necklaces, brooches), hair accessories (hair pins, ties and headbands), and decor items, such as coasters, plates, cabinets, boxes and pen holders.

The first HanjiNaty booth will be located on the edge of the festival site:

The second HanjiNaty booth will be located in the parking lot of the Gyeonggijeon Shrine (경기전):

We can't wait to see you there!



How to get to the main Jeonju Festival site:



Information in Korean: http://jhanji.or.kr/bbs/board.php?bo_table=main01_04

Hanji crafts for kitties

As a self-declared (and rather proud!) "crazy cat lady", I am thrilled and delighted to support, in my own creative way, The Cat House on the Kings, which is California's largest no-cage, no-kill, lifetime cat sanctuary and adoption center.

For their Spring Open house, held on May 6, 2017, a silent auction is organized to raise funds for the cats and kitties sheltered, rescued and nursed by the CHOTK devoted team.

I am excited to announce that I have crafted a few cat-inspired pieces of jewelry that will be available for purchase at the silent auction!

I have made two pairs of earrings and one pendant that will be up for grabs at the silent auction on May 6, 2017. Hopefully they will pleased the cat enthusiasts who will visit the Cat House in Parlier, California for their Spring Open house event.

In addition to the silent auction, visitors will have a chance to tour the facilities and meet the amazing furry inhabitants of the Cat House. A raffle with beautiful prizes is also organized to raise funds.

I really hope that this small gesture will contribute to the success of the Spring Open House, and more importantly, to the continuous care given to all those beautiful felines.

For more details on the important work the Cat House on the Kings does every day for hundreds of cats and kittens, visit their website: http://www.cathouseonthekings.com

Beautiful encounter with a Vietnamese kitty who lives in a newsstand in Hanoi (Vietnam). Summer 2015.

HanjiNaty is now on Twitter!

HanjiNaty has joined the Twittersphere!

You can now follow HanjiNaty's tweets on the famous microblogging social media platform:
https://twitter.com/HanjiNaty

The new HanjiNaty Twitter account will be used to promote our latest creations and projects, the news regarding our Etsy shop, along with the work of great Etsy teammates, collaborators and friends.

Keep an eye out for #hanjinaty!

You can also connect with HanjiNaty on all the following platforms:

⇨ Facebook
⇨ Instagram
⇨ Pinterest
⇨ Polyvore
⇨ Twitter

Let's stay connected!