Aimee Lee ’99 will be presenting a class on Korean papermaking, felting and weaving as part of the Morgan Conservatory’s summer classes. The class runs from August 7 – August 8.
Class Description:
Aimee Lee, the leading US hanji (Korean handmade paper) researcher, will guide you through the process of preparing fiber from mulberry bark, making sheets using the unique side-to-side Korean formation method, and drying hanji. You will also be introduced to joomchi, which is paper felting, and jiseung, which is paper weaving. Korean papermaking, descended from China and a precursor to Japanese papermaking, has a long and illustrious history. With the rise of industrialism and modernization, it receded into obscurity but is still practiced today in countryside mills. This class is an excellent introduction to eastern papermaking and low-tech applications for handmade paper.
Aimee is an interdisciplinary artist who specializes in Korean papermaking and its related craft forms. She earned her BA in Visual Arts from Oberlin College and her MFA in Interdisciplinary Book and Paper Arts from Columbia College Chicago. Her post-graduate research has been funded by the US and Korea Fulbright programs. She exhibits internationally, and her artists' books reside in collections that include the Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection, Museum of Modern Art Library, and King St. Stephen Museum in Hungary. She travels widely for residencies that include Flax Art, Jentel, Ragdale, and Weir Farm Arts Center. In addition she provides information about hanji (Korean handmade paper) on her web site www.aimeelee.net.
Aimee’s Fulbright research grant in Korea was used to research Korea’s handmade paper tradition and related paper crafts. Her longer-term goal is to raise awareness of Korean papermaking outside of Korea, where it is endangered, and teach the things she has been so lucky to learn.
In preparation for the August class with Morgan Conservatory, Aimee has been volunteering her time and labor to create all the tools necessary to make Korean (or any kind of eastern) paper. These tools include screens, frames and a large vat. She is fundraising to cover her living and travel expenses through Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aimeelee/korean-papermaking-in-cleveland. She’s past the halfway mark, but still has a ways to go before her time runs out on June 9.
If you are so inclined, Aimee would welcome any interest you may have. Visit http://morganconservatory.org/tabs4-lst.html and click on “Hanji: Korean papermaking, felting, and weaving” for more information on the class.
No comments:
Post a Comment