Maedeup Monday! The Day I Met a Korean Maedeup Master

While living in South Korea, Su-Mi my maedeup teacher, showed me a book from maedeup master, Kim Eun-Young. I asked her to order one for me and she did. Hellena, my Korean friend happened to be visiting our apartment when I received my book and I told her how I wish I could meet Kim Eun-Young.  Hellena, always being the optimist said that I could and immediately got on her phone to make calls.

It was after about a half hour of phone calls, Hellena had Kim Eun-Young's phone number and was calling her. She was very interested in meeting me and we set up a time. She and her husband live in Seoul. I was really nervous to meet her but Hellena was with me so that helped tremendously. She lived in a beautiful home and was so gracious.

We talked for awhile and she shared rice cakes and tea with us. Her husband is also famous as a painter and she had paintings of his all over. We talked about maedeup and our great love for the art form. She was very interested in sharing maedeup with the U.S. and the rest of the world. Her English was excellent.

I would love to meet her again but I fear that it may even be more difficult to find her. Here is an article about her. She is an Intangible Asset of Korea and there are not many in Korea. It is very difficult to become one.

This is the book that I brought for her to autograph.

I will treasure it forever.

Karuna Reiki Training

A couple of weekends ago, I took a drive up the North Shore to Two Harbors, Minnesota where I spent the weekend with some amazing people learning Karuna Reiki. We stayed in a cabin right on Lake Superior. I had a wonderful time and I'm so glad I went. I almost didn't go because of the awful cold I had and also because of Rocketman.

 

The Friday I left happened to also be the same day that Rocketman was getting his stent removed from his kidney stone surgery and even though this was his third time, I was still worried about leaving him in case of complications. He came home right after the doctor appointment and was in a lot of pain. He had some oxycodone to take for the pain and he needed to take one. He insisted that I still go and he would be fine. I found out later that he was in extreme pain on and off the entire weekend. But he is fine now.

The boulders of Lake Superior is where we received our attunements for Karuna Reiki. It really was a magical place.

                           This is another view from the rocks. It is so beautiful on the North Shore.

 

We even found this thistle near the cabin we were staying at. I did have my first cold shower and I do not recommend it. Due to a miscommunication, the hot water heater was not turned on until Sunday so there were several of us that had cold showers. I never washed my hair so fast. It was freezing!

I returned home with my new certificate and lots of memories. I made some new friends and reconnected with some old. It was just what the doctor ordered.

      We also visited a rock store where I bought this Larimer bracelet as a souvenir of this weekend.

I also was able to finish this huge kingsize quilt for my niece, Madison who will be getting married sometime next year. I'm the only quilter in the family so I never know when the need for quilt will come up. This year was a big year with our son getting married, then expecting a baby and our niece getting engaged. 

Rocketman found this little guy on our deck the other day. A sure sign that winter is not far off.

New Hanji (Korean Papercrafting) Project

I stepped away from all the quilting I've been doing the last few months and pulled out a hanji project. I had bought these forms in Korea during our visit last year and I was eager to get started on them. I love how the forms come looking like a puzzle. Rocketman does not love how heavy they are to carry in our suitcases. True story!

Out first came my Korean glues to protect my fingers from the Super glue which I use to glue the forms together.

Here are the drawers ready to go. 

 

Here is a video I did showing how I did the entire gluing for this hanji project:

 

 

 

Here is a photo of all the hanji paper cut out and ready to glue onto the forms. I have one form that I didn't cover in paper and I'm going to do a video on that so you can see how I apply the hanji paper. It's on my To Do list:) 

Here they are finished.

Rocketman is going under the knife Monday to remove two kidney stones residing in one of his kidneys. It should be quick and he will be under anesthesia during the procedure. Normally, they would wait for these to pass on their own but with trips to Asia looming, it was prudent to remove them. We know how Korea handles kidney stones which was horrific and we can't even imagine how China would handle them. The hardest part for Rocketman is not eating the day of surgery.