Mother nature offers people flowers as a gift tomake their life more beautiful and fresh. Naturally, flowers bloom and fadeover time. As such, people make artificial flowers from different kinds ofmaterials, such as silk, paper, plastic and even clay.

Originatingin Japan, the art of making clay flowers is widespread in the Republic ofKorea, Thailand and Malaysia.  Firstintroduced to Vietnam in 2007, the art has attracted much attention fromVietnamese enthusiasts.

According to Huong Thuy, an experienced clay flowermaker, a special kind of clay is used to make flowers and it plays a decisiverole in making flowers beautiful and durable.

“The colour will be best matched with the clay withgood quality. It will also be easier for the artisans to form petals with thisclay,” said Thuy, who is also the owner of Huong Thuy clay flower shop.

“We often use clay made in Japan and Thailand tomake the flowers,” she added. 

The art of making clay flowers requires makers’ delicacy, dexterity and creativeness as there are many steps, from mixing clay, molding the petals, the leaves, painting, kneading the bud, to assembling the various pieces into whole flowers to make them look realistic. It is the artistic skills of the makers that turn lifeless clay into beautiful flowers.

Thuy further said every step, such asmixing colours, kneading buds or forming the petals is equally important.

“If each piece of the flower is not beautiful, thewhole flower won’t be either. The artisans must pay attention to each step,especially creating the petals and mixing colours,” Thuy told VNA reporter.

She also revealed that to keep the flower’sdurability and avoid humidity’s influence, each petal is coated with a thinlayer of paint. The supported steel wire is replaced by a stainless one to keepthe flowers more eye-catching.

Thanks to their durability which can be last up to seven years,clay flowers have been chosen as decorations in houses or workplaces as well asfor presents to friends.

Nguyen Thi Thao fromThanh Xuan district, Hanoi came to buy a jar of lotus flowers as a gift for herfriends who are now living in the US.
“Lotus is a typical flower of Vietnam. It willremind them of their home country,” said Thao.

Meanwhile, Tran Thang from Hai Ba Trung districtbought a small clay flower pot to decorate his office desk.    

“It’s hard to distinguish the clay flowers and thenatural ones. The flowers are made carefully and eye-catching,” said Thang.

The attractive, affordable, easy-to-maintain and permanent clayflowers have contributed to refreshing people’s lives.-VNA.