Keeping the Embroidery Craft Alive

Although not an artisan and without any official title in the craft village, in Van Lam embroidery village, Ninh Hai commune (Hoa Lu district), everyone speaks of Mrs. Dinh Thi Bay with special affection. People not only appreciate her artistic hand-embroidered works but also the way she is preserving the craft of her ancestors day by day…

Nestled in a small alley of Van Lam embroidery village (Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu district), Mrs. Dinh Thi Bay's house offers a surprisingly tranquil and peaceful feeling. A beloved home nestled beside an ancient rose bush laden with fruit. A spacious courtyard paved with red bricks, enough to evoke nostalgic childhood memories. Everything is simple and humble, like the homeland of one's mother and father, making all the worries, anxieties, and hustle and bustle of city life seem to be left behind…

Beside the time-worn embroidery frame sat a woman, nearly 60 years old, diligently working. Her thin, weathered hands, marked by countless hardships, moved swiftly and rhythmically with the red and blue threads, like a shuttle weaving or painting. Before long, the shapes of birds and fish were intricately embroidered onto the white fabric, drawing admiring glances from onlookers.

Ms. Bay pointed to her embroidered picture and introduced it: "This is a picture I made for a Vietnamese-American. During a visit to my village, they were incredibly impressed with the embroidery techniques here. When they returned home, they sent me a picture of the 'Ocean' and wanted me to embroider it according to this pattern. From that small picture sent via Zalo, I developed it, drew the pattern, added details, and then expanded on it to make the picture more vibrant." For the past three months, Ms. Bay has been diligently working at her embroidery frame, eagerly awaiting the day she can present the picture to her esteemed guest, a picture filled with all her passion and creativity.

Like other residents of Van Lam village, since birth, Mrs. Dinh Thi Bay has been familiar with the sight of her grandmothers and mothers diligently working at their embroidery frames. Embroidery has been a lifeline for her since childhood, a never-ending source of sustenance. Even through ups and downs, periods of prosperity and decline, she has never abandoned the habit of maintaining the craft passed down from her ancestors.

Mrs. Bay said: "When we were young, we learned embroidery out of curiosity and enjoyment. As we grew up, we did embroidery to help our parents. When I got married, the embroidery profession was thriving, so it provided me with a stable income to support my four grandchildren's education. Those who love the craft become attached to it. It's like fate, a debt that we can't separate for decades."

Nowadays, with a stable life and her children grown up and established careers, Mrs. Dinh Thi Bay still diligently works at her embroidery frame every day. Sometimes she embroiders pictures for customers, and in her free time, she embroiders gifts for her children and grandchildren to hang in their homes. She doesn't prioritize financial gain, so even when customers place orders, she doesn't dare accept too many. She explains: "Those who love embroidery are people who appreciate beauty, meticulousness, and naturalness. The more meticulousness and dedication you put into it, the more beautiful and refined the embroidery becomes. Therefore, if you chase after quantity, it's difficult for the embroiderer to bring the same sophistication and care to the artwork."

Not only does she love her craft, but Mrs. Bay is also blessed with a special artistic ability that not every embroiderer possesses. Sometimes, she only needs to close her eyes to see what is missing or what is superfluous in a picture. She can imagine and embroider on the fabric simultaneously, skillfully coordinating the blue and red threads. Under her skillful hands and creative mind, this simple country woman has breathed life into plain, unremarkable fabrics. In the graceful, flowing layers of fabric, one hears the blossoming of night-blooming cereus flowers and the melodious chirping of swallows amidst the delicate fabric…

Currently, Mrs. Bay's house still preserves more than two dozen embroidered paintings created by her own hands. From her early works like "A Glimpse of Tam Coc" with its simple, clumsy lines to the more intricate and artistic paintings of "Four Seasons" and "Countryside," there are many more. Particularly noteworthy is the embroidered scroll she proudly displays on the ancestral altar, a way for this woman to remind her descendants of a traditional craft passed down from their ancestors, a responsibility everyone has to preserve and respect…

Mr. Vu Thanh Luan, Chairman of the Van Lam Embroidery and Lace Association, said: "The Van Lam embroidery and lace craft village is facing the risk of extinction. The number of highly skilled artisans is dwindling. Meanwhile, many elderly people with poor eyesight have long since abandoned the craft. People like Mrs. Bay are very worthy of respect because she is not only striving to preserve her ancestors' craft but also promoting the essence of embroidery to friends around the world , contributing to reviving the craft." In the embroidery village now, it is rare to see anyone still taking out fabric to embroider in their free time to give to friends and relatives or hang them up in their homes as souvenirs. It is also rare to see a house that still keeps a large hand-embroidered frame like Mrs. Bay's.

Modern life, with its pressures of making ends meet, forces women in the village to take on various jobs to survive. Young people are hesitant to engage in the meticulous work and time-consuming nature of embroidery. The older generation is gradually fading into the past, leaving behind a sense of nostalgia for a thousand-year-old craft. This shows just how precious Mrs. Bay's love for embroidery truly is.

Text and photos: Minh Hai

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