I am always struck by who comes out to these hanji workshops, and why. This weekend I was particularly struck by the diversity of the Korean diaspora represented at the gathering, and had a moment of sheer amazement and gratitude that this group was sharing space in my home.
In this group we had Koreans who were born in Korea, Koreans who grew up in Korea, Koreans who were adopted, Koreans who were raised in mostly white neighborhoods, Koreans who are mixed race, queer Koreans, trans Koreans, young Koreans, older Koreans. Koreans who had never been to Korea; Koreans who longed for the Motherland. We had a Korean baker, a doctor, a ceramicist, a photographer, a mixed martial artist, a curator. We all shared a common desire to explore our Korean identity through craft and community. As I keep doing these workshops I realize how rare and special it is to host spaces such as these.
Thanks to friends and community members who came out to assist before and during this workshop: Deb, who beat the dak; Rana, who stirred and assisted at the webal vat; and Stella, who documented throughout and took these wonderful portraits (above) of all the participants from the workshop. I should also thank my daughter Winnie too, who participated in the workshop but also wanted to keep her position as Deckle Box Specialist:
I think a lot about my choice to make these workshops free for participants. Yes I received grant funding from the City of Sacramento, but the funding does not cover the entirety of the offerings. I have been thinking a lot about the concept of gift-giving and revisiting "The Gift" by Lewis Hyde: "For most artists, the actual working life of art does not fit well into a market economy." What is the alternative, especially given the high cost of living here in California? I have been wrestling and working through this question a lot this year. Part of this work involves making observations, and one thing I observed especially after this past workshop was how much I received in exchange for what I offered for free. Participants brought physical gifts of homemade granola, jam, maesil syrup, and scones. Friends freely offered labor and time. Everybody generously shared their responses to survey questions and participated in the group discussion, each story a gift.
How can we reimagine the practice and commerce of art as a gift exchange? To be continued…