Make clay bloom.

K. HỔ LUYỆN "ĐÁNH" HOA (A tiger practices "hitting" flowers)

Seeing me gazing at the succulent plants on the shelf for a long time, Ms. Luong Thi Hang smiled and told me to try and find out which of them were real plants and which were made of clay. Indeed, it's difficult to distinguish between real and fake succulents just by looking at them without touching them.

Ms. Luong Thi Hang meticulously colors a hydrangea flower made of clay.

To create such realistic-looking flower pots, Ms. Hang spent many years learning the craft and independently experimenting with techniques for painting and coloring the flowers. "Every profession requires hard work to succeed. Making flowers from clay requires not only hard work but also passion and perseverance," she said.

About a decade ago, captivated by clay flowers, she frequently traveled back and forth between Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City to learn from a Thai teacher. At the time, with her talent, she thought sculpting clay flowers wasn't too difficult. However, when she started, the clay used to press the petals remained lifeless and expressionless. Even the coloring process couldn't alleviate the paleness of the original white clay. So, she packed her bags and went to Ho Chi Minh City to learn the craft, then taught herself, gaining experience through trial and error. She lost count of how many batches of clay had to be discarded because they were ruined, and how many times she had to "tear up" her work because the colors weren't right.

"The first step in the 'flower-making' process is to roll the clay into thin sheets, then use molds to press them into petals, stamens, calyxes, etc. After the clay dries, the craftsman uses wire to thread through each petal to shape it. Next, the petals are assembled into a flower. The final step is coloring the flower. It sounds simple, but to make each 3D flower look realistic, it requires the craftsman to have keen observation skills, imagination, and, most importantly, accurate coloring," she shared.

Pointing to the unfinished pink lotus pot, Ms. Hang continued, explaining that to give the flower pot "life," she had to research and color it so that the lotus petals were lighter at the base and gradually darker towards the top. The yellow lotus receptacle with its tiny stamens, the budding lotus, and the unfolding lotus buds were also meticulously trimmed to look realistic. The green lotus leaves on the upper side were different from the green on the underside, and there had to be old leaves, young leaves, diseased leaves, and healthy leaves…

These pink clay lotus flowers look incredibly realistic.

"Clay flowers allow the craftsman to unleash their creativity because each petal is a different version; the way the leaves are bent and the shape is unique, with no two petals alike. This step is still quite easy compared to the oil painting process. This is when the essence of each flower is determined; colors that are too dark or too light will make the flower look crude," Ms. Hang shared.

SPREADING PASSION

After several attempts to arrange a meeting, I finally met Ms. Luong Thi Hang because she has been frequently visiting Duy Xuyen District ( Quang Nam Province ) to teach artificial flower making to 12 people with disabilities. To help her students get acquainted, she teaches them about making paper flowers first, then teaches them advanced techniques in making flowers from clay. With the belief that the artificial flower making profession becomes more meaningful if it helps people with hearing impairments, intellectual disabilities, etc., to earn a living, she has dedicated much time to supporting them with skills training, sales planning, product promotion, and more.

Shape the petals using clay.

"The idea of ​​creating jobs for people with disabilities through clay flower making came from one of my apprentices. A few years ago, this girl, who studied at Duy Tan University, came up with this project and won second prize in a startup competition," Ms. Hang said. "Modern society increasingly favors handcrafted products made from environmentally friendly materials. With clay flowers lasting 10-20 years, many customers in Da Nang have chosen them to decorate restaurants, hotels, etc., creating a focal point without being harmful to users. I don't regret the effort of guiding and teaching people with disabilities when I can contribute something to the community."

Although she was the first person to bring the craft of making clay flowers to Da Nang City, Ms. Hang never intended to keep the craft a secret to monopolize the market. On the contrary, she is willing to share it with those who share the same passion, especially young people who want to learn the craft to start their own businesses.

Without hesitation, she took out her flower-pressing tools and explained that in the craft of making clay flowers, these small molds are a vital secret for the artisans. It's not easy to find molds that perfectly create the veins of the petals and leaves. Especially in this art form, which the Russians call "botanical sculpting," based on the structure of real flowers, the vein molds are even more closely guarded.

"Because ready-made molds didn't satisfy my creative passion, I made my own flower vein molds. I researched and was lucky enough to buy a special type of silicone from the US. Since then, I've made a series of flower vein molds, such as those for orchids, daisies, hydrangeas, succulents, etc., to save time and effort," Ms. Hang said.

Through her creativity and experience, she has also discovered many alternative materials to make each clay flower lighter and more colorfast over time… (to be continued)

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/nhung-ngon-nghe-doc-la-lam-cho-dat-set-no-hoa-185240301215327127.htm