Artisan Nguyen Thi Dung
Passion of arts
Although there is no one in her family working in the field of pottery, Nguyen Thi Dung started working in the field as if she were destined to do so. When her classmates in the Dong Nai Art College chose other majors as design or graphic design- jobs which earn money easily. She loves working with pottery with her talents and passion, and never has an idea to quit it.
After graduated from the college, she had opportunities to work at different positions of various pottery companies, where she accumulated knowledge and experiences for herself- her good opportunities as she has considered.
One of her turning point was in 2014, when she was still working for a pottery company, she, together with her husband- an artisan Ngo Trong Van- decided to buy a pottery kiln home. Therefore, she could tried her creativity: making pieces of artworks for her own.
“At the time we just bought the kiln, our salary were not enough because our products were defective a lot. When we were lucky, we had around 40% - 50% of defective products, the percentage were even higher when we had bad clay. But I tried to find mistakes to correct without any discouragement,” said she.
Her techniques on pottery are sophisticated that require the artisan to use her own feelings and experience to employ.
She doesn’t like gathering or hanging around. She loves working at home. Her love of creativity burns when she smells the clay. She can work all day with the potter’s wheel without feeling tired.
The one who makes flowers blooming from clay
From raw material- red clay- with her skillful hands, Dung turned it into a piece of art work, carrying her own feelings and cultural values. Having a look at collection, we can feel how much love she spent for her own works- her spiritual children.
Artisan Nguyen Thi Dung - The one who makes flowers blooming from clay
She has chosen flowers to be her main theme for her own products. So that, she has been called ‘the one who makes flowers blooming from clay’. Clay flowers on her pottery are fresh, graceful with a passion of life. Chrysanthemum and peony are those she often made for they are easy to transfer her feelings and her stories she wants to tell.
She is extremely careful with processes in her work, especially the process of clay choosing and treating. She is really happy when she can find good clay. And she spends her time daily treating the clay. She is also interested in glaze. Any piece of work is covered with different glazes to have the best color.
Her works have been highly evaluated by both customers and other artisans for their beauty and their own stories behind. An artisan, as Dung said, should be skillful and creative, and he has to be patient enough and accepts his failure. When she failed to make a piece of work, she just clicked her tongue: “Then, do it again!”.
Although there are com petitors, Nguyen Thi Dung’s works have their own position thanks to their unique figures. Every progress is hand-made.
She has always chosen themes close with natureher works are with the simple beauty from earth and fire.
With over 20 years working with pottery, although there have been difficulties and challenges, with a ceaseless passion, she keeps finding and creating new things- works of art with her own marks. Dung is one of young artisans with the spirit of a pioneer- who creates not merely works of decoration, but impressive works of art.
