After a period of time, Sinh realized that she could not create the colors that she wanted. She could just make the best possible flowers based on the existing colors of paper. As the paper was stiff, it was difficult to create tiny flowers.
In 2016, Sinh decided to learn how to make flowers from clay. In late 2020, she stopped making paper flowers to turn to clay-made flowers. “I love flowers, but I know that fresh flowers won’t exist for a long time and they can be displayed only for a few days. With paper flowers, I could not mix colors as I wanted. I decided to make clay flowers to maintain the soul of flowers for a long time,” she explained.
Sinh decided to stay at home and spend all her time making paintings with clay flowers. This work requires meticulousness and an aesthetic sense. She believes that flower makers have to put all their thoughts and emotions into the work and must not concern themselves with other things.
Sinh never took any course on painting. But she learned how to paint canvas and draw to create a background for the paintings.
After the background, she makes the clay flowers. It takes her 7-10 days to make a painting, depending on the size of the painting.
“In general, it takes one or two days to make oil paintings and wait 5-7 days until the paintings become dry. For the time being, I make clay flowers and wait 1-2 days until the flowers dry. After that, I attach flowers to the paintings,” she explained, adding that she can create two works within 10 days.
“The clay I buy only has a white color. I knead clay into flowers and give them the colors I want. All the flowers are made manually and then I use scissors to trim them. As clay is soft, I can create very natural flowers. The tone values in a painting depends on the aesthetic taste of every person. Each work is a special product which bears the hallmark of the creator,” she said.
Sinh’s products have been favored by people for many years. However, she acknowledges that she never creates paintings to order. She said creators have to put their thoughts and feelings into paintings, so it is difficult to create paintings in accordance with other people’s tastes.
Clay flower paintings are durable but still need thorough protection. Sinh said paintings, after completed, are put into a glass frame to avoid dust and insects. Clay also needs to be protected from sunlight and water. Sinh sets a desiccant bag into picture frames to prevent the painting from getting moldy.
“I create paintings and flowers with all my love and personal feelings. I think that art requires natural feeling, which cannot be made according to patterns. Only when I respect my natural feeling will I be able to create soulful and lively works. I hope people love my paintings,” she said.
Asked about the future, Sinh said she still has not thought of going further. She now concentrates on making clay flower painting at home and doesn’t think of ‘big business’.
“If I develop a big business, my mind would be distracted by money and financing. If so, I won’t be able to wholeheartedly make paintings, and my works will be lifeless, which is not what I want,” she said.
Ha Nguyen