South Korea Vacation 2015 - Part 7

 My hanji teacher moved! Her landlord did not renew her lease so she found an abandoned coffee shop just across the street. I actually like this location better. There is a table outside so you can do hanji outside if the weather cooperates and she also has her own little bathroom. She has really expanded her woman's clothing and accessories due to the popularity of what she carries. She has impeccable taste and it shows in the things she sells.

Also, just having a hanji only shop has been tough. Hanji was really popular when I moved to Korea in 2007. Her shop was filled with Korean women wanting to make things. It has really dropped off since then and it was a good move to venture out into another direction while still offering hanji lessons.

The shop is really cute and she did a marvelous job of decorating. The tables in the center of the store are for hanji classes or to have a rest. That's my sweet hanji friend, Lim, in the front of this photo.

                                     She had some new hanji pieces that I fell in love with.

               This hanji piece also featured hand painted drawers. This piece just blew me away.

                              This is the piece my hanji teacher had been working on.

Then I noticed this dead fish over the entryway. I had never seen this before and I asked about it. A fish over the door is a good luck charm that symbolizes a lot of money coming to you and the wishes of good fortune. They had a great laugh over my shocked face at seeing a dead fish over the door even after hearing the reason for it. I did wonder what Rocketman would say if I too hung a dead fish over our front door.

 My hanji teacher has always been so very generous with me. These are the gifts I left with.

                                                             This is the inside of the box.

                                    She also gave me this beautiful hand painted table.

                          My dear friend, Lim, also had a couple of pieces for me. This is a light.

We also went to dinner with my friend Mr. Choi. He was my yoga buddy the whole time I lived in Korea and he really kicked my butt in yoga.  We went to the same Chinese restaurant we always go to when we visit. It also happens to be just a block from our old apartment in Suwon.

We had a private room upstairs which is for special people like Mr. Choi. We let him order, which this time was a BIG mistake. For some reason, he ordered a 10 course meal. The next problem was all my fault because I am a picky eater and have been my entire life. I'm much better than I was when I was younger but there are still lots of things I won't eat - like mushrooms. Guess what? Every course had mushrooms. Sometimes all that was in the course was mushrooms in sauce. I was dying! I tried to hide the fact that I wasn't eating much of anything. I was doing a lot of picking and was finding occasion things I could eat. Thank goodness for kimchi, I ate a lot of that.

But we didn't know Mr. Choi had ordered all these courses and he also seemed surprised when they didn't stop. We finally had to call an end to it at course 8 and Rocketman was going to burst. Mr. Choi was also glad we declined a few courses. Next time, we will order off the menu because their food is pretty good and of course, we have been told many times how famous this restaurant is. It is a very old building and just to have been in business for decades does say something. Rocketman and I chuckled about the whole ordeal on our bus ride back to Seoul and we still laugh about it today.

I think for our next dinner with Mr. Choi we will try to point him to another restaurant. But if he insists on this restaurant, we will definitely order our own meals. This was crazy. He wouldn't let me pay although we argued while he was paying. It had to have cost a fortune. We've had this argument before and I again forgot not to do it. It looks very disrespectful to argue with an elder, especially a grandfather. Mr. Choi knows me well and it didn't upset him but I did notice we got looks from the staff and others. Sometimes my American manners come out when they are better left unsaid, especially in these circumstances no matter how much I wanted to pay for the dinner.

He also gave me this beautiful lacquer plate. He knows what I like - that's for sure. 

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.

New Hanji Project

I have a lot of hanji forms from Korea and I love to do hanji. But it's all about making time for it. I've already scanned around 1000 of my parent's photos and it's been pretty time consuming but a lot of fun remembering the past. I am also taking an online yearlong painting class with Wyanne Thompson. I have taken a few of her online classes and learned so much about painting. The class is called "You and Me" and you can still sign up at any time. You can find out more details here.

I've decided my next hanji project will be to make some hanji trays. The photo above shows what the trays look like right now. I have pattern pieces which were made by my hanji teacher in Korea. I'm not sure when I will actually start it but it usually comes as a strong desire and then I put everything aside. I always seem to have many, many craft projects going on all at once and this also seems to be a common malady with crafters. I'll keep you posted with my progress.

The Tiny Box

A month ago, I was picking up my girlfriend to head out for dinner. I have known Lynn for 15 years or more. We met in the office of the doctor I was seeing at the time. She was our doctor's nurse and would do the vitals and get everything ready for Dr. O. You don't normally know the staff at the doctor's office but Rocketman and I had recently started allergy shots. If you know anything about them, you start with shots (one in each arm for me) every week, then every two weeks and then monthly. You have to wait in the waiting room a half hour to make sure you do not have a reaction and then you have a nurse check each arm before leaving. Through the years we got to know everyone on Dr. O's staff along with the receptionists. Lynn and I got especially close. I have been to her home many times for dinners and celebrations. But this particular time I was thrown for a loop - in a good way.

She was grabbing her purse and coat but stopped and said, "I have something I have to give to you." This tiny box is what she gave me. She said many years ago a former patient had given her the box. He was of Japanese dissent and also a doctor. In his spare time he liked to make handmade boxes. I recognized immediately the Japanese hanji paper. This perfect box was amazing to me. He told her that the box was not for her but for her to hold onto and take special care of it until she felt compelled to give it to someone. He passed away a few years ago well into his 70's.

At that moment in time, she knew she had to give it to me. We both don't know what it means but both feel that it does indeed mean something. Only time will tell. Do you believe in signs? I do strongly and am still trying to figure this one out. But for one thing, it does make a great story.

Insadong and the Discovery of a New Hanji Shop

 

Insadong is one of my favorite parts of Seoul because of all the crafty goodness to behold. The crowds can be crazy especially on the weekend so we usually visit during the week if it works out. This is one of the many hanji and brush painting supply shops. Can you believe how large some of those brushes are?

                 I was inside this shop picking out hanji paper when Rocketman took this picture.

I had heard about this hanji shop from the gal at Hanji Happenings and I knew I had to check it out next time we were in Insadong. It is on the second floor of a building, right across the street from a Starbucks on the main street of Insadong. They had a beautiful selection of paper and the owner knew quite a bit of English which always makes it easier.

             He had a large selection of everything for hanji and brush painting. I did a lot of shopping.

Insadong is also a great place to people watch. Rocketman got a quick photo of this little fashionista.

And this ajossshi fashionista.

              This is the hanji I purchased in Jeonju. I had not shared this with my Jeonju post.

 

I bought all this paper at the Insadong hanji shop.

I also bought this paper at another hanji shop in Insadong. This shop is not on the main road.

I also bought some hanji varnish. I've had trouble with American varnish and streaking. I was so happy that it made it home in my suitcase.

                            I also bought this stand to hang my brushes that I use with sumi-e.

I also bought some Korean ink to use in my sumi-e. My chilbo teacher, Nan-Young picked up a set of Korean brushes also for me to use in my sumi-e. I love that I will be using Korean brushes. Maybe it will help me to paint better.

 

Hanji Museum - Jeonju, South Korea

The hanji museum is located in a paper factory. This is the outside of the building. The hanji museum is on the second floor.

The museum is broken into two parts: old hanji and modern hanji. I started taking pictures only to be told I could only take pictures in the modern section but I did get a few photos.

 

 

Onto the modern hanji and where I was able to take pictures at will. I love hanji lamps and definitely want to make one someday.

 

 

 

                  You can also make your own hanji paper so Hannah and I decided to do just that.

                                       Getting most of the moisture out of the paper.

                                         This was a heating unit that dried the paper quickly.

 

                                      The paper was totally dry and the last step was stamping.

                                                               A couple of hanji friends.

The hanji museum store. The hanji was very reasonably priced and I bought quite a few things. It was much cheaper than I had seen in Insadong.

We also came across these students on a field trip. There were so cute and very well behaved.

 Then we went back to the downtown to find a restaurant recommended by the taxi driver. We never found that restaurant and finally Hannah asked a businessman where to go. He directed us to this place which I found out served dog stew which we didn't get but it still really, really freaked me out that I was sitting in a restaurant that served it.

The food was pretty good but I was preoccupied with the other dish they served. We took the bus back to Seoul. I was so glad that we visited Jeonju.

                                                    Here are the things I bought at the gift shop.

                                                           I bought this one for my Dad.