Cherishing a dream of promoting the image of Vietnamese rice, three youths in their 20s have managed to collect over VND60 million to open a workshop making pictures from rice grains
Would the rice fall off pictures that have been kept for a long time? Would pictures made of rice be invaded by pests? What is the duration of rice paintings? A series of similar questions were raised by guests coming to view Thai Hoang rice pictures at the Vietnam-Binh Duong Ceramic Festival held in Binh Duong Province’s Thu Dau Mot Town last September.
According to 23-year-old Nguyen Thai Hau, one of the three founders of ThaiHoang Rice Picture in Bien Hoa City, there are eight steps involved in crafting a rice picture. First, select material – uncooked, even and fine rice grains that would not break or burst when being roasted. Next, color the rice by roasting it in a frying pan. Then draw a sketch, place the rice onto it piece by piece, glue the rice to ensure it remains stuck to the picture and allow it to dry in the sun for three days. The last step is chemical treatment for rice preservation before framing the picture.
“It normally takes two to seven days, or sometimes even a whole month to complete a rice picture, depending on its size. Currently, the smallest picture we can make is 20 square centimeters in size,” Hau said.
Hoang Minh Thai, the founder of Thai Hoang Rice Picture, born in 1986, made a graduation thesis at Dong Nai Arts College two years ago. He did not want to use natural materials like tree barks, soil and rattan for his artwork like what previous generations of students did. So he thought of using rice as a medium to create paintings as rice embodies Vietnam, a country with rich paddy fields. And he was not the first in the country to come up with this idea.
After graduation in 2009, Thai has collaborated with Hau and Nguyen Quoc Hung (born in 1984) to establish the rice painting facility with an initial capital of slightly over VND60 million. Thai is in charge of product design; Hau supervises production and looks for ways to extend the painting duration; and Hung oversees accounting and trading.
At the beginning, market access was difficult for the new product that was monotonous in theme and limited in colors. “Feedback from customers shows certain problems like grains falling off paintings after some period of time or due to movements while being transported; or moisture penetrating paintings while being framed in glass”, Hau said.
Aware of their product’s shortcomings, the trio sought to improve production techniques, use better quality glues and widen the color variety to 17 different hues. From the three base colors, white, yellow and brown, they found a formula to roast rice in a way to get more color tones. Not only did they succeed in enriching their color palette, Thai Hoang was also able to develop art themes to five, including landscape, calligraphy, arts, animals and portraits.
Hau considers portraits to be the hardest to create, demanding artisans’ attention to details, patience and persistence in creating contrasting hues. That’s why the price of this kind of paintings is higher than other products. A 60cm x 80cm painting costs VND1.5 million while a portrait of the same size is priced at VND2.2-2.5 million.
According to the three founders, while their crafting technique has been improved, business relationship establishment and product promotion still remain areas of great concern. Apart from the retail sales at their facility in Bien Hoa City and participation in trade fairs, Thai Hoang fulfills orders from a number of businesses and shops in HCM City.
Thai Hoang’s current goal is to develop a website soon to introduce their products and trademark, and ultimately realize their dream of bringing the image of Vietnam’s rice to the world.
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