Maintaining the profession through each manual stage
In the days of preparing for the Mid-Autumn Festival, in a house in alley 73 Hang Than street (Ba Dinh ward, Hanoi), artisan couple Nguyen Van Hoa and Dang Huong Lan are busy completing the paper masks.
According to artisan Dang Huong Lan, paper masks go through many stages from filling paper, drying, digging, adjusting to coloring. Each stage requires meticulousness from the craftsman.
Traditional masks are made of paper, paste made from cassava root, cooked into paste. To complete a mask, many elaborate and meticulous steps are required and are all done manually," Ms. Lan said.
This job originally takes a lot of time and depends on the weather. On sunny days, the mask dries quickly to continue the new stage. When it rains or the humidity is high, the craftsman has to wait longer, while orders are concentrated in the Mid-Autumn Festival season.
At the age of 67, Ms. Lan also has to adapt to changes in health. Stages that require long sitting and continuous work are no longer suitable for her as before. Therefore, she reduces the intensity of work, only taking on tasks suitable for her physical condition.
When I was young, I could do a lot. Now I only do it according to my health. The important thing is that I am passionate and see that job as a personal happiness," Ms. Lan shared.
Not only facing difficulties in weather and health, workers are also finding ways to adapt as the toy market becomes more diverse.
Currently, my family mainly works on orders. Customers buy directly at home or order from schools, museums, programs, events and many provinces and cities," Ms. Lan said.
The way of doing it according to orders helps masks continue to be present in life, especially every Mid-Autumn Festival. Some people buy them for their children, some people find their childhood toys, and some tourists come as gifts bearing the imprint of Vietnamese culture.
This mask is not only liked by older people but also by children. Many people look at it and remember the old Mid-Autumn Festival. Looking at my traditional products still being welcomed by everyone, I feel happy and joyful," artisan Dang Huong Lan said.
Masks extending Mid-Autumn memories
Artisan Nguyen Van Hoa (Ms. Dang Huong Lan's husband) came to the profession 48 years ago, after being taught by his father-in-law how to make paper masks. After many years of attachment, he is still in charge of many stages in the product completion process.
Usually, I take on stages such as molding, adjusting, digging details and coloring the mask," Mr. Hoa said.
Every Mid-Autumn Festival, masks made by the family are still sought after by customers, including international tourists.
Although there are now many more modern masks, domestic and foreign tourists still love these traditional masks. There are international customers who come to order and bring them back as souvenirs because they do not have them in their country," Mr. Hoa said.
Customer acceptance is a joy for the artisan after nearly half a century of attachment to the profession.
Seeing the product being welcomed by everyone, I feel very excited. That is also the motivation for me to continue my profession," artisan Hoa shared.
Among modern toys, paper masks still return every Mid-Autumn Festival season. For artisans, customer acceptance is the motivation for traditional crafts to continue to exist in today's life.
