Vietnamese man makes incredible woodburning art on bamboo pens
Sunday, September 25, 2022, 15:17 GMT+7
Duong Thanh Phan, a Ho Chi Minh City native, came up with the idea of doing woodburning on bamboos straws in 2018.
The 40-year-old said he started woodburning out of passion but decided to turn his hobby into a profession when he realized the value of bamboo art.
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| Duong Thanh Phan uses a tool to wood-burn a bamboo pen at his shop at 241/24/7 Tan Hoa Dong Street in District 6, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre News |
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| Bamboo artworks by Duong Thanh Phan. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre News |
Phan initially only wanted to wood-burn bamboo pens, but increasing demand pushed him to open his own workshop to produce bamboo pens.
Currently Phan’s Nha An Lanh shop offers bamboo and fire-carved bamboo pens, as well as lucky bamboo sticks, bamboo dragonflies, bamboo books, keychains, and more.
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| Bamboo dragonflies fetch VND290,000-450,000 (US$12-19). Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre News |
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| Bamboo books and lucky bamboo sticks. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre News |
According to Phan, an engraved pen is valuable because it promotes Vietnamese culture using traditional symbols, such as bronze drums, ancient lac birds, images of the Vietnamese countryside, and messages.
“[My art] looks simple, but it’s definitely not easy to create a wood-burned bamboo pen,” Phan said.
“A [woodburning] artist needs to concentrate or they can hurt their hands. Meticulousness is also required in this craft.”
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| Duong Thanh Phan works on materials to make bamboo pens. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre News |
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| Bamboo straws are used to make pen barrels. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre News |
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| Phan works on bamboo straws to make pen barrels. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre News |
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| Phan cuts bamboo chopsticks to make pen tips. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre News |
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| Phan sharpens pen tips. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre News |
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| Phan adjusts a pen cover to fit other parts of the pen. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre News |
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| Phan uses a tool to wood-burn a bamboo pen at his shop at 241/24/7 Tan Hoa Dong Street in District 6, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre News |
Ordinary bamboo pens at Phan’s shop sell for VND30,000-40,000 ($1.27-1.69) while wood-burned pens range from a few hundred thousand dong to several million dong depending on a customer’s requirements.
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