Blow the soul into the stone

Wednesday - 27/09/2023 21:36

From lifeless pebbles lying around the beach, through Ms. Tuyen's skillful hands, they have become unique works of art.

Ms. Tuyen is currently a civil servant working at the People's Committee of Con Dao district. After work, she spends all her time creating unique works of art for her spiritual child.

WOW SHOP is a small souvenir shop located at No.7, Le Thanh Nghi street (next to NT's coffee shop), residential area 6, Con Dao district. The shop has a gentle, eye-catching purple tone, visitors can easily recognize it and be surprised that in just a small space, it contains many handmade products created by her hands.

Her "spiritual child" was born by chance. During the 2019 COVID-19 epidemic, Ms. Tuyen and her younger sister played a game of drawing on rocks to kill time. Then she posted her finished product on Facebook to entertain and share with everyone, but she did not expect it her friends happily received it. With a passion for painting since she was a child and a talent for arranging flowers and things, she nurtured the dream of opening a souvenir shop with products she created.

With her intelligence, she has transformed the lifeless stones into unique pieces of art, from which her products are sold widely.

The creation of works is done by her own research, for some products she copies images on the internet and then draws them. Afterward, the completed works were greatly enjoyed, praised, and shared by friends and relatives. That is a great motivation and encouragement for her to create many soulful works of art that are loved by everyone.

At first, in her free time, she often used a pen to draw colorful fishes on the stone's surface, then gradually, she expanded to draw the 12 zodiac animals, insects, and cartoon characters.

Ms. Tuyen shared: "Initial success, many people ordered small pebbles depicting animals close to life. From there, I continued to draw on the stone with a larger surface."

However, in the beginning, when starting to learn about paint on large-sized pebbles, there were many difficulties. Firstly, about raw materials, when the local stone source does not provide enough stone, we must look to buy it elsewhere. The shape of the stone chosen to draw must be round and smooth.

After purchasing desired materials, there are many processes to go through, such as cleaning the surface, drying thoroughly, because if not thoroughly, mold can easily occur and paint can peel off after painting.

According to her, from the original shape of stones, painters must shape their works with an artistic perspective, and the most difficult thing is to use the angles of stones to make the painting "real and vivid" like 3D works.

After being completed, the work is covered with a layer of paint, waiting another day for the paint to dry. The color is permanent and not affected by weather or outside temperature.

Drawing on pebbles is different from drawing on traditional paper or fabric. Pebbles are usually small in size and therefore not easy to draw, requiring a high degree of detail. The shapes of natural stones are also very different, so completely different images can be created from them. Alternatively, you can draw 3D animals on the existing shape of the stone.

She said: "I am very excited whenever I think of turning unconscious things into works of art." During her free time or weekends, she usually focuses on creating unique and innovative works.

Foreign tourists are very interested in artistic products made from pebbles

According to the size and difficulty of the drawings, the price of each product will vary from 4,000 Vietnamese dong to 500,000 Vietnamese dong, depending on the size and details of each product (2D, 3D)... Many customers buy and order them, especially foreign tourists, they are very interested in products like this. This helps her obtain a stable income to invest and cultivate her passion.

In addition to stone products, her WOW SHOP currently has nearly 20 different products with a variety of genres and colors such as painting on canvas bags, straw bags, making button paintings, Macreme knitting, and silk flower arrangements. High-quality silk flower items for gifts, bright and beautiful living room, and office decorations.