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After getting married and having children, Tran Lan Anh's (31 years old, living in Sa Pa, Lao Cai province) life underwent many changes. Although she had worked in the tourism industry for many years, she was forced to change jobs during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Having tried her hand at various jobs, Lan Anh still hasn't found a path she wants to commit to long-term. While still uncertain about her decision, she started picking up brushes and carving knives, just like her father used to do every day and has continued to do for generations. "Initially, I just painted for personal enjoyment. But, perhaps it was fate, I posted my artwork on social media; customers inquired, and that's how I started," Lan Anh recounts her "connection" with her current work of wood carving.
From weathered roofing planks, the skillful hands of young women in Lao Cai transform them into sculptural works imbued with the cultural essence of the Northwest region.
Reconnecting with childhood memories
It's safe to say that Lan Anh's decision to follow in her father's footsteps came very naturally. From her childhood, she was familiar with the image of her father diligently working with old pieces of wood, chiseling, carving, and shaping each small detail, meticulously breathing the spirit of the mountains and forests into every stroke of the chisel and knife. Day after day, month after month, what her father did gradually became deeply ingrained in her memory. Although she didn't attend any art school, when she picked up the tools for sculpting and painting, Lan Anh found herself having no difficulty at all.
She revealed, "Since I was in kindergarten, my father used to venture into the forest to find orchids and collect tree roots floating in the streams. Yet, from those rough pieces of wood, he skillfully transformed them into lifelike sculptures. Actually, throughout my childhood, because I was busy with school and exams, I often took my father's work for granted and didn't observe it too much. It wasn't until recently that I started to realize that I actually really enjoy the things my father has been doing."
From a young age, Lan Anh was familiar with the image of her father diligently working with old pieces of wood, meticulously carving and sculpting, infusing the spirit of the mountains and forests into each stroke of the knife.
Her father never considered himself an artist; he always humbly referred to himself as just a farmer. For him, these jobs were largely for making a living and providing for his children's education.
According to Lan Anh, whenever her father went into the forest to pick orchids or look for plants to grow, he met and talked a lot with ethnic minority people. Therefore, he not only understood their culture and daily life very well but also knew about 70% of the Hmong language.
“The work that impressed me most among my father’s creations is a wall covered with smiles, including the smiles of people from the highlands and even famous people from around the world. In my memory, the final stage of his sculpting was very meticulous and careful. Although it was just carving, the images of the people from the highlands still appeared clearly,” she expressed.
Her father's sculptures were created on old planks of wood that had been used for roofing or building buffalo sheds. Following in her father's footsteps, Lan Anh also uses these materials to create her own works. The roofing planks of the H'Mong and Dao people are made from rare Pơ Mu wood, because the wood contains a type of oil that makes it water-resistant and termite-proof.
Deep love for one's homeland
To create a wooden painting from roofing planks, Lan Anh begins by cleaning and preparing each plank of wood she receives. Any warped, cracked, or damaged planks are re-treated to ensure their sturdiness. She sketches the painting's design directly onto the plank surface and then proceeds to sculpt the basic shape. Next, she attaches brocade fabric, draws the characters' faces, adds patterns and motifs, and finally applies a protective coating to complete the painting.
For Lan Anh, sculpting is the most difficult step in completing a wood carving because it requires both physical strength and a vivid imagination.
"Those pieces of wood have been on the roof for hundreds of years, enduring sun, rain, and sometimes even harsh frost in the highlands. I don't want to discard all the unique grain patterns on the wood, so I always try to carve them in a way that preserves the soul of Northwest Vietnam," she expressed.
Instead of focusing on festivals or traditional rituals, she chose to reflect daily life and portray the lives of the people.
Lan Anh also expresses that spirit in each character and each story on the old wooden roof tiles. Instead of focusing on festivals or traditional rituals, she chooses to reflect daily life and portraits of the people. This is how she expresses her love for her homeland, just as her father did.
In particular, moments between mother and child are a recurring theme in her works, whether in the fields or at the market. This imagery is very familiar and close to the lives of ethnic minorities. And above all, this image touches the heart of a mother like Lan Anh.
She further shared: "Although I am not from an ethnic minority group, their culture is, to me, the culture of my homeland. Therefore, through my roofing artwork, I am telling the stories of my homeland."
Although I am not from an ethnic minority, their culture is, to me, the culture of my homeland...
Lan Anh's journey back to art is also a path she walks alongside her father in incorporating brocade fabric into roofing board paintings. For her, her father is not only a teacher but also a quiet companion who always guides his daughter with closeness, naturalness, and without imposition, through his own experiences and life wisdom.
“My hands are still covered in scratches, and almost every piece of clothing is stained with paint. But each roofing panel painting must adhere to the principle I set: it must be created from pieces of roofing materials from local people's houses, from hand-woven brocade fabric, and from my own hands to breathe life into the artwork. I hope that even those who have never set foot in Northwest Vietnam can feel the vibrant colors and vitality of that land,” Lan Anh shared.
Lan Anh's journey back to art is also a path she has walked alongside her father in incorporating brocade fabric into roofing board paintings.
