QUANG NAM – Picking up wood and firewood washed up on the beach of Hoi An after the flood, 42-year-old Le Ngoc Thuan crafted more than 100 cat mascots during the Lunar New Year.

In the last days of the year, Mr. Le Ngoc Thuan, residing in Tan An ward, Hoi An city, meticulously crafted wooden cat works and firewood in a carpentry workshop of more than 250 m2.

More than 100 completed cat statues will be exhibited by him at the exhibition “The Art and Creative Path” to welcome the Year of the Rabbit by Hoi An City and the art exhibition “Farewell to the tiger and welcome the cat” at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum. Hanoi) held on December 28.

Mr. Thuan is a chef and restaurant owner in Hoi An City. Living in the old town, witnessing after each flood, firewood and wood drifted to the beach, he came up with the idea of ​​​​picking up sculptures to sell to tourists.

In 2020, the Covid-19 epidemic broke out, the restaurant closed, after each flood, he drove a pickup truck to the sea to collect wood and firewood, then opened a carpentry workshop to make statues for sale.

The wood and firewood brought back are selected and ideas from different shapes. “I had difficulty at first because of my experience and lack of design. From wood logs to a work of art requires an idea,” he said.

Without chiseling skills, Mr. Thuan began to learn a trade, traveled to many places abroad to study and visit production workshops. After that, he spent nearly a billion dong to buy machinery and hired 7 workers in Kim Bong carpentry village, Hoi An city, to manufacture with a salary of 7 to 12 million dong/month.

In the year of the Rabbit, he focused on producing cat mascots. The sticks and logs are “blown soul” by him into valuable works of art. “Cats are human-friendly pets. Cat statues will have many buyers, so I produce more than 100,” he said, adding that last year, he made just over a dozen tigers.

Sculptor Vo Duc An, 41 years old, is finishing a cat statue. The process of manual processing should take a long time, the machine only supports cutting and sawing a part. On average, Mr. An makes 25 products per month.

The artwork of a cat wishing to start the new year after being painted was painted by Mr. Thuan using sandpaper to lighten the color. This way to make them look like the old one, the display will be more beautiful.

New Year’s blessing cat with the words Phuc, Loc, Tho. “I will bring this work to the art exhibition of ” Farewell the tiger and welcome the cat ” at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, “said Mr. Thuan.

Wooden cats with patterns, vibrant colors. Firewood is soaked in flood water for many days, under the impact of impacts, so it is durable, less susceptible to termites.

Anh Thuan with the work of mother and cat. The mother cat is 60 cm long, 53 cm high; The kitten is 30 cm long, 25 cm high, priced at 3 million VND.

Cats with stylized patterns are displayed in the tourist area. At the end of the festival, the products are put into three restaurants and a shopping mall in Hoi An city of Mr. Thuan to sell to tourists. The lowest selling price for each cat is one million dongs, the highest is 10 million dongs.

In addition to cats, the workshop also makes many statues to sell to tourists. Mr. Thuan confirmed that the production materials are firewood and planted wood, not using natural wood. This is to protect the environment and regenerate the ecosystem.

 (According to vnexpress )