Julia Jarrot, a 20 year old woman from France, has just completed a 60-day course at the Hue University of Arts yet, she has the look of a professional lacquer artist as she shares some of her work and methods on a wooden board.
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Julia and her lacquered artwork |
A passion beyond borders
Julia followed her teachers and friends advice in Paris, France, and decided to come Hue at the beginning of 2010, and enrolled herself into a Vietnamese lacquer course at the Hue University of Arts.
"The reason why I'd chosen Hue is because it has a history with many of the most famous lacquer artists in Vietnam. Many of my teachers had recommended that I come here. After a few thoughts, I simply packed my bags and flew over here," Julia confided to us of her passion.
During the first few days at the university, when Julia was introduced to natural lacquer materials such as leaves and seashells, she was very surprised but fascinated. "All the things to create the lacquer colours here I had never seen in any lacquer producing workshops in France. In Hue, the use of traditional materials requires the painter, besides drawing, to make their own materials and colours, which is very meticulous and time-consuming," Julia explained.
However, she quickly learned how to create her own colours that could reflect both Hue city's distinctive shades as well as the richness of the European palette. Julia had worked intensively for many days and nights to produce 18 paintings and 13 hanging artworks, using lacquer colours that she created herself.
Julia said that she often wanders alone to feel Hue, and with the help of her classmates, she has realised that lacquer painting is not just about the techniques, but the painter must also breathe life into their artwork with all of their heart.
Many people have mistaken Julia's paintings carrying Hue themes for those of a local artist.
Nguyen Duc Huy, Julia's teacher at the Hue University of Arts said, "Normally, our students can only create one or two lacquer paintings a month, but Julia is an exception. Julia, with talent and her special passion for Hue lacquer painting styles, has been able to produce a great number of meaningful artworks."
A passion for lacquer painting
With 18 paintings, Julia was able to depict very special and distinctive characters of Hue, from the lotus of Tinh Tam Lake, a lizard, rabbit, and bee to ancient motifs on Vietnamese kings and queens mausoleums capturing the imagination for people who view her work.
The traditional gold and red colours of the Nguyen dynasty were coordinated cleverly with the dark and gloomy shades of Hue. Looking carefully into Julia's paintings, we could see features such as white smoke coming from incense, blue smoke at sunset, and the unique mother-of-pearl Hue of white, with minutely detailed features through which Julia wanted to express feelings and emotions. The most special thing was that Julia was able to emboss her painting, a technique that would take a lacquer painting learner a year to acquire.
Among all the paintings and artwork that Julia had created, one with the title "Vietnam" is her proudest and the one she poured all of her heart and soul into. Julia creatively printed many of her own photos that she had taken while she was in Hanoi, Sapa, Nha Trang, Da Lat, Saigon, and Hue, on this special painting. Under the eyes of a French student, everything charming about Vietnam was fully captured in the painting.
Julia had graduated from a fine arts school in Lyon, and an industrial arts school in Paris, majoring in fine arts and design. But her love to learn has never ceased in this young girl's heart. Julia shared, "Two months were too short a time to learn the art of lacquer painting. The money I have received from selling my artwork, I will use it to come back to Hue and enroll myself in a longer course that would allow me to meet and study from the finest artists in this field."
Julia owns a lacquer painting workshop that mostly designs large lacquered objects, with Julia herself as the only staff. Julia is planning to bring with her a lot of natural lacquer materials that she has bought in Hue. "I will use and finish all these colours in France. Definitely, I will come back to Hue, and open an exhibition displaying my new artwork about Vietnam. I hope I will be able to participate in the 2012 Hue Festival along with other French artists," Julia said with a warm smile.
Creative hanging artwork captures the eyes.
The colours depicted in this painting expertly match with the shades of the royal Hue city.
Julia beside her most-loved painting, "Vietnam".