Stone seals have been used in East Asia for thousands of years. Similar to wax seals in Europe, they are used as decorative sigils to seal letters and sign artwork.

In this workshop, tutor Nao Fukumoto will guide you as you in choosing your own Tenkoku Moji (letter) or you can design your own seasonal symbol and carve it into a small square stone. Perhaps you may wish to design one of each?

The seals will be unique to you and will last forever and is a lovely way to embelish envelopes, gift tags, wrapping paper and more with a little hand crafted, seasonal spirit. The workshop is also perfect for anyone who might want to stick to tradition and use as a marque for their work.

All materials are included and for you to take home:

• Two stones for carving

• Silver & gold ink pads

• A selection of papers for printing

• Refreshments

There may be an opportunity to purchase tools on the day should you wish to continue this craft at home.

Please book the tickets the link below.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/christmas-japanese-tenkoku-stone-carving-workshop-with-nao-fukumoto-tickets-427048141487

Learn how to make stunning Christmas decorations all from a simple piece of beautiful Japanese paper. Our resident artist Nao will teach you how to create a selection of Origami baubles that will look good on any tree. Origami is a lovely mindful skill and has a meditative effect. You could also add these to your own set of battery powered string lights to make unique fairy lights.

All materials and Japanese paper are included. Please note that you will need to provide your own set of string lights if you wish to make fairy lights.

Brief description of Workshop:

Stone seals have been used in East Asia for thousands of years, similar to wax seals used in Europe, they are used as a decorative signature to seal letters and sign artwork.

In this workshop you can choose your own Tenkoku moji (letter) or you can design own letter/symbol and carve it into small square stone.

The seal will last forever and will be one of a kind.

Everyone welcomes to this one day workshop using a needle, cloth and dye learn to create a series of experimental samples exploring a variety of ways to use of Shibori wrap, stitch, fold and twisting, techniques.

create your own unique handkerchief, the same techniques can be applied to create larger artworks/ t-shirts etc.

You will learn how to set up the warp on the loom, weave a few simple stitches and fringe the wool to finish off- experimental to use of colour and texture is encouraged.

Stone seals have been used in East Asia for thousands of years, similar to wax seals used in Europe, they are used as a decorative signature to seal letters and sign artwork.

In this workshop you can choose your own Tenkoku moji (letter) and carve it into small square stone. The seal will last forever and will be one of a kind.

Stone seals have been used in East Asia for thousands of years, similar to wax seals used in Europe, they are used as a decorative signature to seal letters and sign artwork.

In this workshop you can choose your own Tenkoku moji (letter) and carve it into small square stone. The seal will last forever and will be one of a kind.

A hanko (判子), also known as an inkan (印鑑), is a small carved stamp or seal. All adults in Japan own an individual hanko which shows their full name or family name which is used as a way of signing documents or contracts with ink; it is not common to use a signature. ​

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Hanko can be made from various materials like plastic, wood or even ivory. Stone seals have been used in East Asia for thousands of years; similar to wax seals used in Europe, they were a decorative way to seal letters and sign artwork. In the past, their use in Japan was limited to a very few people; the emperor, shoguns, court officials, and other important people would have used seals on official documents. ​

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After the Meiji Restoration in the 19th Century, hanko became part of daily life after a law was passed requiring ordinary people them on important documents. Nowadays, Japanese may have 2 seals: a custom-made one used for formal documents, and another that is used in more casual situations. ​

Learn how to make stunning Christmas decorations all from a simple piece of paper. Our resident artist Nao will teach you how to create a selection of Origami baubles that will look good on any tree. Origami is a lovely mindful skill and has a meditative effect. You could also add these to your own set of battery powered string lights to make unique fairy lights.

Booking from Farnham maltings

https://farnhammaltings.com/events/christmas-fair-origami-christmas-decorations