Tien Giang Phan Tuan Khang, an 11th grade student in Go Cong Dong, created many paintings of lotus flowers, fields, and rivers in the West from corn husks, banana stems, and water hyacinth.
Khang is currently a student at Nguyen Van Cong High School. No one in his family is an artist, but Khang has loved drawing since he was a child. He studied and explored on his own, with the help of art teachers at school.
More than a year ago, Khang learned about some artists using natural materials such as cajuput bark and lotus leaves as creative materials, so he wanted to try it out.
The male student realized that banana stems, corn husks and silk, and water hyacinth growing wild in the rivers and canals in his hometown were abundant sources of materials that could be utilized. In addition to being free, these materials were also environmentally friendly.
Phan Tuan Khang pasted banana leaves to complete the painting "Soul of the Countryside". Photo: Nam An
In his spare time, Khang visualizes the composition of his paintings and sketches them on the plywood surface with a pencil. He also harvests, processes and dries the raw materials.
According to the male student, to limit the use of chemical colors, he takes advantage of the available tones on the materials when mixing colors for the work.
"The edge of the banana leaf is usually white, followed by a yellow layer, the middle of the leaf is usually dark brown. Depending on your intention, you can classify and cut into shapes, then use glue to stick onto the sketched shape," Khang gave an example.
After that, the male student tried to combine the pictures on a side board to gain experience, make corrections, and then make the original. Depending on the difficulty and details, each of Khang's works took one to two months to complete. In the final step, Khang used anti-mold and anti-humidity glue to protect the surface.
The male student said that a painting made from natural materials, if well preserved, can be used for 3 or 4 years.
"Soul of the Countryside" by Phan Tuan Khang . Photo: Nam An
Last year, the work "Countryside Soul" made from banana leaves and rice flowers by a male student surpassed hundreds of works to win third prize in the national "Youth, Adolescent and Children's Creativity" contest. Khang said the painting depicts peaceful life in a Western countryside village with familiar images such as a river, a boat and coconut groves.
Earlier this year, my classmates and I made the paintings "Scent of Lotus in Go" and "Royal Tomb" using dried corn husks, corn silk, and water hyacinth.
Khang said he chose the lotus because it is the national flower. Meanwhile, the "Royal Tomb" is a national historical site in Long Hung, Go Cong town. The mausoleum was built in 1826 and is the resting place of Duke Pham Dang Hung, the maternal grandfather of King Tu Duc and the father of Queen Mother Tu Du, wife of King Thieu Tri. He was an honest mandarin, both a scholar and a martial artist during the Nguyen Dynasty.
Khang selected the corn husks from large, worm-free ears and then dried them. Because they had only one color, the male student and his friends dried the husks under the sun at different levels, the longer they were left, the darker the color became.
"After that, I put the corn husks into the press and rolled them flat to make lotus petals and leaves. I used corn silk to make lotus buds and pistils, and dried water hyacinth to make lotus stems," Khang said.
Recently, Khang and his friends' paintings won first prize in the "Creativity for Youth, Teenagers and Children" contest of Go Cong Dong district and were selected to compete at the provincial level.
Mr. Nguyen Quang Khai, Khang’s instructor, commented that his student’s paintings are very soulful, stemming from his high imagination and artistic talent. Khang’s works can be used as teaching aids or displayed to promote the image of his homeland.
Nam An
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