Young artisan Vu Nhu Quynh has found success by modernising the traditional ceramic products of her hometown (Photo courtesy of the artisan) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Dare to thinkdifferent and take a risk – that’s the path young artisan Vu Nhu Quynh hastaken to succeed.
She has heightened the value andaesthetic of traditional ceramic products in her hometown – Bat Trangvillage in Gia Lam district on the outskirts of Hanoi – by thinking outside thebox: applying delicate gold-inlaid embossed designs onto her products.
Handmade, Quynh’s ceramic products areharmonious combinations of both modern and traditional elements, and have beenhighly praised for their sophistication.
According to the 33-year-old artisan, the craftof making ceramic products have been pursued by three generations of herfamily, so she has been used to the scent of the clay since she was a littlegirl.
But Quynh did not realise her passion forceramics in those early days. After graduating from high school, instead offollowing her family’s craft, she chose to study fashion design at theUniversity of Industrial Fine Arts.
“I was enthusiastic about fashion design atthat time. I ran a big clothing store in my hometown after graduatingfrom university. But it seems I chose the wrong profession at that time. Istudied designing dresses and suits but few villagers wore them back then,”she recalled.
Unsuccessful with her start-up business, Quynhdecided to put away her tailor’s scissors and chalk to take up her family’scraft.
“The artistic knowledge about shapes, coloursand designs that I gained during my studies at university could becreatively applied on ceramic products,” she said.
Her family used to focus on producing householditems like bowls and dishes to sell to the domestic market. However,she realised these products were already being mass produced by otherworkshops. On the other hand, ceramic products used for worshipping were mainlyexported and those available at home were few and far between.
She then started to think about findingoutlets for her family’s products – creating ceramic objects forspiritual uses with high aestheticism.
“The idea of creating ceramic items withembossed designs was predestined for me. I had been impressedby beautiful wooden pictures with raised designs and that inspired me touse the same idea on ceramics.
“I started with my first sketch, but as apioneer of embossing designs on ceramics in Bat Trang Village, Iencountered many difficulties,” she recalled.
Quynh embarked on her mission by restoring andrenewing ancient designs which she could apply on contemporary ceramics.This way, her products not only preserve the imprints of Vietnamese culture butalso manifest modern elements to give them a contemporary edge.
For example, ancient ceramic items used to bepainted with simple designs of peaches or peony flowers that symboliseprosperity and power. The young artisan therefore innovated these simpledesigns by applying them in 3D on traditional ceramics.
The first ceramic product with 3D designs tookQuynh up to one year to finish with countless experiments and failures. She saysthe most difficult part is preserving the embossed designs after heating theobject at a high temperature.
Moreover, the colours needed to beharmonious and diverse instead of monochromatic like those on otherceramic objects. The young artisan therefore thought of painting differentshades of dark and light onto the designs to create impressive 3D effects.
After each failure, Quynh drew her ownexperience of heating, colouring and preparing the material.
“First, the object is shaped with a mould or byhand. After that, I draw the sketches for the 3D designs which are thenapplied to the surface of the product. That step demands skill andpatience from the artisan,” Quynh said.
“After the object has been heated at 900degrees Celsius, it is painted and enamelled and then fired againat 1,200Celsius. After the second firing, we have a finished product. Eachstep is equally important as they all contribute to the perfection ofthe final product.
“In the first three years of experimenting, Ibroke so many items they could have been used to pave a floor of upto a hundred square metres!”
Quynh’s patience and determination finallypaid off when her ceramic products with embossed designs were perfectedand accepted by customers. The embossed designs were even inlaid with18-carat gold.
Having mastered the technique, Quynh started tomake more products and diversify her designs.
According to her, each product takes a differentamount of time to finish depending on its sophistication and size.
For example, a big vase might take half a yearbut in exchange, the value of the product increases as well. While a bigvase might cost up to 1 billion VND (43,000 USD), a smaller one can besold for several hundred thousand đồng.
The most sophisticated product that Quynh andthe other artisans at her company have created is a pair ofornamental jars that are 1.8m high and 1.1m in diameter. The jars took thema year to complete.
Presently, her company employs 200 artisansand workers, focusing on ceramic worshipping and feng-shui objects with over 25agencies nationwide.
“My products are mainly purchased by domesticcustomers. In the future, I will improve shipping services to serveforeign customers as well,” Quynh said.
She also reveals that she is planning todiversify her ceramic products by producing more practical items like gifts,vases and tableware featuring imprints of Vietnamese cultureto introduce to more international friends./.
She has heightened the value andaesthetic of traditional ceramic products in her hometown – Bat Trangvillage in Gia Lam district on the outskirts of Hanoi – by thinking outside thebox: applying delicate gold-inlaid embossed designs onto her products.
Handmade, Quynh’s ceramic products areharmonious combinations of both modern and traditional elements, and have beenhighly praised for their sophistication.
According to the 33-year-old artisan, the craftof making ceramic products have been pursued by three generations of herfamily, so she has been used to the scent of the clay since she was a littlegirl.
But Quynh did not realise her passion forceramics in those early days. After graduating from high school, instead offollowing her family’s craft, she chose to study fashion design at theUniversity of Industrial Fine Arts.
“I was enthusiastic about fashion design atthat time. I ran a big clothing store in my hometown after graduatingfrom university. But it seems I chose the wrong profession at that time. Istudied designing dresses and suits but few villagers wore them back then,”she recalled.
Unsuccessful with her start-up business, Quynhdecided to put away her tailor’s scissors and chalk to take up her family’scraft.
“The artistic knowledge about shapes, coloursand designs that I gained during my studies at university could becreatively applied on ceramic products,” she said.
Her family used to focus on producing householditems like bowls and dishes to sell to the domestic market. However,she realised these products were already being mass produced by otherworkshops. On the other hand, ceramic products used for worshipping were mainlyexported and those available at home were few and far between.
She then started to think about findingoutlets for her family’s products – creating ceramic objects forspiritual uses with high aestheticism.
“The idea of creating ceramic items withembossed designs was predestined for me. I had been impressedby beautiful wooden pictures with raised designs and that inspired me touse the same idea on ceramics.
“I started with my first sketch, but as apioneer of embossing designs on ceramics in Bat Trang Village, Iencountered many difficulties,” she recalled.
Quynh embarked on her mission by restoring andrenewing ancient designs which she could apply on contemporary ceramics.This way, her products not only preserve the imprints of Vietnamese culture butalso manifest modern elements to give them a contemporary edge.
For example, ancient ceramic items used to bepainted with simple designs of peaches or peony flowers that symboliseprosperity and power. The young artisan therefore innovated these simpledesigns by applying them in 3D on traditional ceramics.
The first ceramic product with 3D designs tookQuynh up to one year to finish with countless experiments and failures. She saysthe most difficult part is preserving the embossed designs after heating theobject at a high temperature.
Moreover, the colours needed to beharmonious and diverse instead of monochromatic like those on otherceramic objects. The young artisan therefore thought of painting differentshades of dark and light onto the designs to create impressive 3D effects.
After each failure, Quynh drew her ownexperience of heating, colouring and preparing the material.
“First, the object is shaped with a mould or byhand. After that, I draw the sketches for the 3D designs which are thenapplied to the surface of the product. That step demands skill andpatience from the artisan,” Quynh said.
“After the object has been heated at 900degrees Celsius, it is painted and enamelled and then fired againat 1,200Celsius. After the second firing, we have a finished product. Eachstep is equally important as they all contribute to the perfection ofthe final product.
“In the first three years of experimenting, Ibroke so many items they could have been used to pave a floor of upto a hundred square metres!”
Quynh’s patience and determination finallypaid off when her ceramic products with embossed designs were perfectedand accepted by customers. The embossed designs were even inlaid with18-carat gold.
Having mastered the technique, Quynh started tomake more products and diversify her designs.
According to her, each product takes a differentamount of time to finish depending on its sophistication and size.
For example, a big vase might take half a yearbut in exchange, the value of the product increases as well. While a bigvase might cost up to 1 billion VND (43,000 USD), a smaller one can besold for several hundred thousand đồng.
The most sophisticated product that Quynh andthe other artisans at her company have created is a pair ofornamental jars that are 1.8m high and 1.1m in diameter. The jars took thema year to complete.
Presently, her company employs 200 artisansand workers, focusing on ceramic worshipping and feng-shui objects with over 25agencies nationwide.
“My products are mainly purchased by domesticcustomers. In the future, I will improve shipping services to serveforeign customers as well,” Quynh said.
She also reveals that she is planning todiversify her ceramic products by producing more practical items like gifts,vases and tableware featuring imprints of Vietnamese cultureto introduce to more international friends./.
VNA
