The only thing left to do on the medicine cabinet is coatings. I had to paint two coats of the hanji glue all over the entire piece and this week I applied a coat of varnish to protect it. The varnish was hard to apply. It had to be just right and the teacher kept a close eye on me as I did all the cubby holes.
She wanted to do everything else so that it would be perfect. This is a picture of the top.
She also gave me the drawer knobs. They are heavy brass.
She showed me how to cover them with the hanji paper.
Here they are drying and ready for next time.
My teacher also gave me some gifts. I think she really appreciated me helping with the foreigners the other day. These are some hanji slippers. I'm going to add some maedeup to dress them up.
The girls were all crocheting during the festival and my teacher was selling these kitchen scrubbers. I love that she bought a craft book on how to make them and then they spent a day making a bunch to sell.
She was also making these cute pens and made one for me.
I had a disturbing incident as I entered the hanji shop. My teacher had ordered food and the leftovers were sitting right outside her door with a newspaper covering it waiting for it to be retrieved. A scruffy man pushed me aside as I entered the shop and lifted the newspaper and began to shovel the leftovers into his mouth.
I couldn't move, I just stared as he ate without even taking time to breathe. I had never seen such hunger in person and it brought tears to my eyes. My teacher came and took me by the shoulders and brought me into the shop but I turned to see him leave as quickly as he came.
I felt so sad that in this 21st century we still have people starving. I also felt blessed that I've never felt that kind of hunger nor have my family. How horrible it must feel to not be able to feed your family and I said a prayer for this man and the many millions who are in the same situation.
That medicine cabinet is a marvel!
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