The bamboo way - Vietnam bamboo, Vietnam furniture
Lots of materials are used to create art, but Thai Vinh and his gifted craftsmen stick to bamboo and oils to make their special paintings, both for aesthetic reasons and to preserve a strong Vietnamese tradition. The pictures are made of many bamboo strips woven together that are then carefully painted. Depending on the degree of difficulty, it takes the staff of Thai Vinh Bamboo Arts from 10-40 days to create a painting.
"I've had an uncanny knack with bamboo since I was a student. I cannot explain why but I think I've chosen bamboo as a unique way to express myself," says Thai Vinh.
Established in 2000, his company has gone from strength to strength thanks to dedicated employees and the enthusiasm of Vietnamese and foreign art buyers.
Thai Vinh is also in the export business, shipping its paintings, banners and logos to Europe, the United States, Australia and Japan.
Common subjects include Vietnamese scenery, flowers, birds, animals, religion, and legends and myths, but Thai Vinh Bamboo Arts' greatest success is with portrait paintings, particularly idealized representations of Ho Chi Minh.
A few of their portraits of Uncle Ho, all of them made to last, now hang from the walls of the Ho Chi Minh Museums in Hanoi, Hue and Ho Chi Minh City.
The company also turns out popular portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Bob Marley, Che Guevara and others.
As evidence of its success, Thai Vinh Bamboo Arts has won the gold prize of the Vietnam Star Awards and the Vietnam Quintessence Awards.
The attention to detail in every picture would please the most fastidious. Quality is the number one priority of Thai Vinh and his staff, though interesting subject matter is up there too.
Reported by Kim 