LACQUER SCHOOL TAY HO
The year 2022 was both challenging and inspiring for me. With a foundation in both modern and traditional art, I realized that oil painting, which I had studied, wasn’t suitable for expressing the fusion of these two worlds as I envisioned. At that point, I turned to lacquer painting—a medium that combines contemporary aesthetics with the unique qualities of traditional Vietnamese art.
Driven to learn more, I sought out the Lacquer School Tay Ho, where Professor Trần Anh Tuấn, the uncle of Mr. Trần Quốc Đức, became my mentor. From the beginning, he warned me that the path of lacquer painting would be full of challenges, but I remained determined. Each time I carefully placed an eggshell onto the surface, I felt a surge of excitement as the layers of color slowly emerged and blended. This process drew me into a whole new world, unpredictable yet fascinating, where the mystery of the final result became a captivating force for me.
After six months, I not only mastered the art of lacquer painting but also learned how to apply lacquer techniques to create various accessories such as earrings, necklaces, and even the Pandora Box, which I proposed for teaching and sales to English-speaking international customers. Admired and trusted by my teacher, I was given the role of artist guiding the "Hoa Tay" workshops every Saturday. Through these sessions, I began to recognize my own flaws and mistakes from the early days, steadily working to correct them and enhance my skills.
In 2023, I organized the "Sơn Mài Dream" exhibition, giving students the opportunity to present their work. This was a long but passionate journey, my way of helping traditional art remain alive in people’s hearts.
