Threads as jewels
- Mina works with hand-sewn ramie fabric
- She loves the design of hand sewn threads
- Her work is her life
Ramie fabric is a material very familiar to artisan Mina Kang. She has used this traditional Korean fabric since childhood, and she feels deep stability and comfort through hand sewing with it. Sewing became a means of telling her story. She makes brooches and necklaces playing with the variables – the thickness, pattern and colour – of the thread. Mina Kang has experimented with three-dimensional structure with jogakbo – traditional Korean patchwork – and used it in conjunction with jewellery and metal craft. Through her impromptu and intuitive sewing, the colourful pieces of ramie fabric are organically connected and have three-dimensional structures, thanks to its stiffness and elasticity.
Discover her work
INTERVIEW
In my youth, I was interested in jewelry due to its beautiful and colorful shape. I decided to specialize in Jewelry crafts in college. The course of study and practice was harder than I expected. I realized that making is different from seeing.
Generally Mosi (ramie fabric) has the characteristic of various colour, soft texture and flexibility compared with those of metals. Whenever I make Mosi works, I am quite satisfied with that the various composition of shapes is possible, and the shape of linen works is not changed easily and lasts longer than other textiles due to the hardness of Mosi.
There are no special skills that anyone can easily do it by putting more time and effort. Sewing records the stitches of my time and work, and it shows beauty and elegance. The repetition of ordinary daily life in sewing finishes beautifully.
The mixture series and classic series were inspired by traditional Korean-style houses and structures. Mosi is a Korean traditional material that shows Korea’s unique beauty and variety. I’m also inspired by Western-style structures and lines.
