Our planet's abundance of plants has provided food, shelter, and clothing for humans across cultures, from past to present. This course will focus on how specific natural materials were used in Korea to make lace from bark, rope from paper, color from fruit, and 2D/3D objects from hanji: Korean paper. Students will learn techniques that include joomchi (paper fusion and texturing), jiseung (paper cording and twining for flat and sculptural objects), shifu (cloth made from paper thread), natural dyes and finishes for paper, and bark lace and thread. Finally, book structures and enclosures will be explored to house some, but not all, of the abundant samples created throughout the week.

Come prepared for intensive hand work in a cooperative and collaborative classroom, and leave with a multitude of techniques, samples, and stories from a rich paper culture.

This workshop is made possible by a generous grant from the Windgate Foundation.

Thanks to this grant, we will be able to offer two (2) full need-based scholarships for this workshop. To apply for one of these scholarships, please follow this link. Please note due dates and award announcement dates.

Students already enrolled in these workshops are also encouraged to apply and will be reimbursed if awarded a scholarship.

Materials to Bring: Please wear comfortable clothes that you don't mind getting wet or messy, as well as sleeves that can roll up. You can leave fancy jewelry for fingers and wrists at home! Sketchbook and writing tools (whatever you like to use for taking notes); spray mister (for water; can be a cleaned, re-used container); small sumi brush (will only be used with water, so you could substitute with a water brush like this: (https://www.dickblick.com/items/05445-1005/); 6" upholstery needle (available for sale from instructor); coins in pairs (pennies, nickels, quarters, or any large coins, one pair is sufficient); small objects that are water resistant that you may want to cast in bark lace (even fruit can work for this as long as it is firm and has a surface that will eventually release the cast bark), as with any casting, avoid undercuts unless you are willing to cut open your pieces; chip brushes or hake brushes (at least 3 per student, 2–3" wide brushes are ideal); small c-clamps that can be submerged in water/dye (one per student); stencil brush or foam pounce.

Optional: Drop spindle if you have one (this one is a good weight for paper thread: https://woolery.com/louet-octo-drop-spindle.html0); any flat rocks that are palm sized that you can hold easily in your hand, bring one; if you plan to produce a lot of paper thread and don't like using a drop spindle: antique Swedish bobbin winders can be found at a variety of online sources new (over $100), or find a used one on eBay ($30-$70 depending on how good you are at auctions. Don't worry if you miss out on one because the Swedish resellers always immediately place a new used winder online after the close of each auction); knitting needles (any size) or crochet hooks (any size) if you know how to do either; handmade papers made Asian-style with long-fibered plants, any mulberry papers are good, tissue papers are NOT; onion skins (separate yellow and purple skins, collect from kitchen and keep dry); if you're interested, gather and dry avocado skins and pits (separately); if you eat pomegranates, gather only the outer skins (the red part, not the yellow pith); if you plan to do lots of jiseung, get diagonal nippers like these: https://www.amazon.com/Tooltron-00004-Diagonal-Cutter/dp/B004OY6PJI/ref=sr_1_25?keywords=cutter+diagonal&qid=1556202996&s=gateway&sr=8-25.

Optional and available at SFCB for student use during workshop: Scissors; utility blades/snap-off knife; metal ruler or metal triangle, if you prefer; self-healing cutting mat (A4 size or larger); large needle or awl; nitrile gloves​​​​​​; small water container; awl; bone folder; pencils; linen thread and beeswax; bookbinding needles.

Workshop Fee (includes $88 materials fee): $890.00

Date & Time: Monday-Friday, April 20-24, 2020 :: 10am-4pm (instructor will be on-site from 9:30am-5:30pm for any students wishing to work on projects outside of instruction time)

Location: 375 Rhode Island St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Note: Please read over the SFCB Registration Policies before signing up for a class

REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE 3 DAYS PRIOR TO THE START DATE OF THIS WORKSHOP.

About the Instructor | Aimee Lee

Aimee Lee is an artist, papermaker, writer, and the leading hanji researcher and practitioner in North America (BA, Oberlin College; MFA, Columbia College Chicago). Her Fulbright research on Korean paper led to her award-winning book, Hanji Unfurled, and the first US hanji studio in Cleveland. Her artwork resides in collections that include the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Stanford University, UCLA, and Yale University. She has shown at the Fuller Craft Museum, Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking, Korean Cultural Service (NYC) and Korean Cultural Center (D.C.). Her work has appeared in The Korea Times, The New York Times, The Plain Dealer, KBS World Radio, PBS, VOA, and CNN's Great Big Story. She teaches and lectures; past engagements include the American Museum of Natural History, Asian Art Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, Denver Art Museum, Detroit Institute of Arts, Oberlin College, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Mills College, UC Berkeley, University of Michigan, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and Penland School of Crafts. Funders include the US Fulbright Program, Korea Fulbright Foundation, John Anson Kittredge Fund, American Folklore Society, and the Center for Craft, Creativity & Design.