DOUBLE THE EFFORT
During her time at school, Nguyen Thi Ha often felt sorry for herself because her right arm was atrophied and her fingers were deformed. The arm that was used to hold a pen could not obey her will, and sometimes Ha wanted to give up. However, it was the handicraft lessons that awakened in her a passion for needlework. Ha said that fate did not give her a healthy right arm, but in return she was left-handed and had a talent for painting since childhood. She decided to try her hand at traditional hand embroidery. At first, when seeing Ha holding a needle with one hand to embroider on a canvas, many people were both concerned and skeptical: how long could this girl stick with each stitch? Ha did not answer but just silently thought: if she does not have two hands, she must work twice as hard.
Ms. Ha (right) conquers the traditional embroidery profession with only one healthy arm.
PHOTO: HOANG SON
The milestone that brought Ms. Ha to the professional hand embroidery profession was in 2019 when she registered to study at Hue City Vocational Training and Employment Center for the Disabled. Ha cannot forget the difficult early days when needles continuously pricked her hands until they bled. Not discouraged, learning at the center was not enough, Ha brought the frame, needle and thread home to practice diligently every night. From her tired, stiff left arm, she gradually controlled the needle's stitches softly and flexibly. After a few months of perseverance, the stitches became neat and sharp.
Her products may be slower than those of ordinary craftsmen, but their aesthetic quality is no less. The embroidery on ao dai, handbags, masks, brooches, etc., which are well received by the market, is a great motivation for her to continue pursuing this profession. In particular, in 2023, the project "Thanh Ha Traditional Hand Embroidery" helped her win an encouragement prize at the provincial "Innovative Startup" competition, which made her even more excited. "I told myself that I had to add more creative hand-embroidered products to be able to make a living from this profession. And the embroidery on Bodhi leaves was born from that...", Ms. Ha said.
Ms. Ha said that at first, no one believed that she could embroider a picture, but then she could do both 2D and 3D pictures. Painting on Bodhi leaves is both creative and a challenge that she wants to overcome to create new products and test her own limits.
THE PROFESSION OF CALMNESS
To create an embroidery on a Bodhi leaf, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha has to spend a whole month soaking the leaves in water, then "washing" and drying them. Each leaf, after revealing its ivory-white veins, will be carefully selected to make the background. Then from that fragile leaf background, lotus petals, calligraphy, images of Buddha... gradually appear under Ms. Ha's talented hands. Her paintings are so vivid that from afar, many people mistake them for pre-printed motifs, only when they get closer can they see each thin thread embroidered on the leaf, still clearly showing the tiny veins like veins.
Small Bodhi leaves with embroidery used to decorate phones. PHOTO: HOANG SON
She said that when she first started embroidering, the leaves were torn many times because she moved the needle too fast or the thread was pulled too tight. However, it was also from those failures that she learned to pull the needle evenly, to breathe slowly to keep the rhythm, and to feel the right amount of tension. "Embroidering on fabric is difficult, embroidering on leaves is even more difficult. I only dare to use one thread because there was a time when I used too much thread and the leaf's bones broke. Each needle must be very light and even to create a sharp image," she said. It usually takes her 2-5 days to complete a work. Many larger and more complex works take a whole week. Among them, the one she is most proud of is the embroidery of a meditating Buddha. The multi-colored threads that Ms. Ha skillfully "painted" on a Bodhi leaf exude a peaceful, compassionate look. "If my hand is just a little off, all my efforts will go away with the leaf. Thanks to that, I learned patience and calmness...", Ms. Ha shared.
Not stopping at framed Bodhi leaf paintings, Ms. Ha is also creative in laminating embroidered leaves to make phone cases, decorations for cars, restaurants, hotels... She also dyes leaves to create a colored background, combining many different tones to create small hand-sized calligraphy paintings, suitable for modern consumers' tastes. With prices ranging from a few hundred thousand VND to less than 1 million VND, each Bodhi leaf embroidery painting helps Ms. Ha earn enough income to support her family.
"Embroidering on Bodhi leaves requires the craftsman to be many times more patient. Therefore, excluding the cost of materials, the daily labor cost is not much. Meanwhile, although customers are very interested, due to the high cost, they are still not very interested. I hope to cooperate with a unit that consumes the products so that I can feel secure in creating new works. I also have time to teach the profession for free to women, especially those in the same situation...", Ms. Ha confided. Interested readers can contact Ms. Ha via phone number: 0355.445.466. (to be continued)
Famous badminton player
Small, frail and without the strength of her right arm, Nguyen Thi Ha is still a famous disabled badminton player in Hue. In her small house, a collection of colorful medals, from local to national competitions, hangs in a corner of the wall as proof of her determination to overcome difficulties.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tay-khuyet-theu-tranh-len-la-bo-de-185251031210330068.htm
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