26 August 2009

Workshop with Chunghie Lee

Chunghie Lee's specialty is pojagi, the techniques used in Korean wrapping cloths, and she brought plenty of examples -as well as some Korean silk that we could buy small quantities of -
This type of wrapping cloth is used mainly for wedding gifts - one of the ties slips through the "pocket" and the tab hangs decoratively. What a good way to wrap money!
The class in action. In the afternoon we had an hour of "silent stitching" - it was more than pleasant, it was wonderful to be able to focus, or drift, without anything happening that you needed to pay attention to.
Pojagi technique is about the seams - and about tiny stitches! Running stitch for the first row of stitching, then fold over and turn in the top layer, holding it down with whip stitch - a fell seam, in other words.
As well as practising several types of seams, we learned how to make the "bat knots" that are put at intersections of seams, for luck. Why luck? Because in the Chinese language (which influenced Korean to some extent) the word for bat, fu, is the same as the word for luck.
After all those glorious items, my humble result, made of somewhat unsuitable fabrics -
I show the closeup in response to a question asked in class, what side should the seams show on - answer: it doesn't matter. (They are going to be beautifully done on either side...)
Last but certainly not least, here is Chunghie wearing her hemp jacket with calligraphy, a translation of Proverbs 31:30 - "Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised."
In her exhibition, the work centred on the theme of the "nameless woman" who made the beautiful work in the midst of a hard life in traditional society.

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