Hong Van's childhood was filled with images of her mother knitting and sewing sweaters every winter. She loved the soft, warm feeling of the yarn, and this material later guided her artistic journey. After graduating from the Graphic Design Department of the University of Industrial Fine Arts in 2002, Hong Van began experimenting with incorporating yarn into painting. Together with her lecturers, she traveled to many places to thoroughly research yarn embroidery, gradually studying how to revive traditional yarn embroidery techniques, and then established an embroidery workshop, showcasing her unique embroidery style.

Artist and painter Nguyen Thi Hong Van guides students in creating their artwork.

In Hong Van's paintings, each strand of yarn is arranged to create depth, light, and dimension. Flowers, landscapes, and portraits, rendered in yarn, all possess a soft yet vibrant quality. Each painting by artist Hong Van embodies the result of meticulous work. The difficulty lies in selecting the yarn and the needlework technique, requiring absolute concentration to ensure even, smooth stitches. Embroidering thick, fluffy yarns demands extreme precision; a slight misplaced needle will expose the fabric, while embroidering too tightly will cause the painting to wrinkle, or too loosely will result in a wrinkled surface.

Artist Hong Van shared: “Each painting is the result of months, even years, of tireless work at the embroidery frame. There are days when my hands ache from stretching the yarn and holding the needle. Even so, I still find joy in the creative process.”

In 2014, artist Hong Van organized the "Embroidery of Emotions" exhibition, showcasing nearly 30 embroidered works depicting Hanoi landscapes, flowers, abstract paintings, and folk art. Among them, the work "Green Dragon Playing with a Ball" stood out due to its large size (2m x 1m) and the elaborate embroidery technique, which she meticulously worked on for six months. Inspired by the image of the "Green Dragon" in the Four Sacred Animals, the work, despite being made from thick yarn, still conveyed the gracefulness and powerful aura of the dragon.

What's special about Hong Van's artistic journey is that she opened a workshop to teach wool embroidery to people with disabilities. During a project supporting disadvantaged communities, encounters with people with disabilities made her realize that sometimes a simple craft can become a bridge connecting people to life.

From that idea, Len Art, a free wool embroidery class, was established in 2016 at the very embroidery workshop where she creates her work. Over the past decade, the workshop has provided free vocational training and guidance to more than 30 people with disabilities and autistic children. Currently, the workshop is training 10 students with classes from Monday to Friday every week. Here, students learn how to hold a needle, coordinate colors, complete each picture, and also learn to believe in themselves. Products from the workshop are chosen by businesses and organizations as gifts, providing a stable income for the students. Through this, the students feel recognized for their real-world work abilities.

Art can shine on the stage, and it can also sparkle in the lives of those facing hardship. Today, Len Art may be just a small workshop, but there, talented hands are diligently weaving yarn, creating paintings, and producing valuable works of art for the world.

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/van-hoa/doi-song/det-yeu-thuong-cho-nhung-vang-trang-khuyet-1040972