On May 25th, the Korean Cultural Center of Canada held a Dano fan making workshop that was offered both in-person and offline. This event was part of Korea Week, which took place between May 21 to June 2nd, 2022. I was happy to be able to attend the online version of this event.

The registration for this online event was fairly simple as participants had to register online at the specified time. There was a cap on the availability of Dano fan making kits but I was fortunate to be among the number of participants who met the quota. Following that, within two weeks, I received the kit at home. 

 

Below you will see what I received in the kit:

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For this event, they provided us with a clam-shaped Dano fan to decorate during the workshop, along with dry flowers/leaves, some glue, a tweezer and hanji paper.  

 

The session went really well with the teacher starting off by presenting a brief history of Korean fans, and by showcasing a few examples of decorated Dano fans. 

The Dano fan was traditionally given to those you loved in order to wish them a happy and healthy summer and help them escape the heat. They were usually decorated with dry flowers and dry leaves. The teacher was very knowledgeable on its history and guided us step by step in the process to obtain our own Dano fan. 

 

Here is what mine looked like at the end. I chose to decorate both sides of the fan, even though it is not mandatory. In Korean tradition there is a saying that goes “there is beauty in emptiness”, which means that keeping the fan almost void of intricate motifs is seen as beautiful. Some Dano fans are decorated only in the corner or towards the bottom and the rest of the fan is left empty. I followed a similar concept as I also believe less is more and I enjoy the minimalist artform.  

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All in all, it was a lovely workshop that enabled me to have another wonderful addition of Korean art in my house. 

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Thank you so much to the Korean Cultural Center for organizing this event and for allowing participants around the country to attend. 

 

#danofanmaking #koreanculture #koreanculturalcentercanada #한국문화

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