Young artist revives traditional pottery craft

Young artisan Nguyen Hong Quang is hoping to revive the once famous traditional craft of Huong Canh Pottery Village in Vinh Phuc Province, which has fallen on hard times as modern manufacturing methods erode its market.

Nguyen Hong Quang hopes to revive Huong Canh Pottery Village

The 300-year-old Huong Canh Pottery Village was nationally renounced for the quality of its clay jars, pots, bowls and cups, but the craft skills are being lost in the march of modernity.

Quang wants to change that.

Born in 1980, he recalls that as a child he would visit the village's pottery workshops with his parents and was fascinated by the skill of the local people. His own family were potters, but when the Huong Canh Pottery Cooperative disbanded, they had to focus their time on making roof titles to earn a living.

A visiting artist opened Quang's eyes to the potential of pottery.

"At first, I don't know what art pottery is," Quang said. "What he made looked like mostly twisted jars and I didn't understand. But he taught me that art comes in many forms and that there was a big market for it. I decided to follow that path under his encouragement."

In 2001, when the authorities of Vinh Phuc Province opened courses to teach people the traditional pottery craft of Huong Canh Village, Quang signed up and, two years later, began studying at the Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts.

After graduation, he returned to the village, borrowed VND150m (USD7,000) and mortgaged his family home to open his own workshop, learning from mistakes and installing clean, modern, energy-efficient gas kilns and clay-kneading machines, although he prefers the smoother texture achieved by kneading the clay by hand.

Quang working with clay

Quang combines both traditional skills and modern production methods to achieve a balance between creativity and output.

"Huong Canh has brown and green clay," he said.

"The brown is often put above the green. You can also mix these two up for a suitable colour. Some people use purely green clay to have the colour of moss."

Quang has found demand for his work in HCM City, where he can earn VND100m a month, most of which goes back into his workshop. In 2013, Quang was honoured by the HCM Communist Youth Union as a skilled young worker.

A student creates in Quang's workshop

He is now well known in the province. He plans to expand his operation to involve more families in hope of reviving the reputation of Huong Canh Pottery Village.