For over 20 years, hundreds of clay models for statues of historical figures, religious icons, and large-scale projects across many provinces and cities have been created by the hands of this artisan, born in 1983. Many works he modeled have been completed, including reliefs at the Da Nang General Science Library, reliefs of the revered Thoai Ngoc Hau, traditional reliefs for the 5th Military Region armed forces, the Phong Thu monument, the Saint Thomas Thien statue at Thien An Abbey, and the Saint Benedict statue.

Nghe nhan dieu khac Nguyen Van Nho ben tac pham "Da no hoa", phac hoa to nghe lang da Non Nuoc. Anh: Nguyen Dong

In 2020, Nho won an award in the Dien Ban town notable figures sculpture competition with two portrait sketches of People's Armed Forces Heroes Nguyen Phan Vinh and Le Tu Nhat Thong. Then, in 2023, his work "Da no hoa" (Stone in Bloom) won second prize at the Non Nuoc Fine Art Stone Sculpture Competition.

These achievements have made him a rare model-making artisan directly associated with Non Nuoc stone village—a craft village with a history of nearly 400 years and a national intangible cultural heritage—despite not being a native of the village.

From stone polisher to sculpture graduate

In 2002, 19-year-old Nguyen Van Nho left Hung Trung commune (now Yen Trung commune, Nghe An province) for Da Nang to seek employment after failing university entrance exams. He sought an apprenticeship at the Xuat Anh fine art stone facility in Hoa Hai, Ngu Hanh Son ward.

His initial work involved sanding and hand-polishing stone statues. Recognizing the apprentice's diligence, artisan Tran Van Xuat, the owner of the facility, provided for his living expenses so Nho could work while continuing to study for his exams.

Nha dieu khac Nguyen Van Nho ben cac phoi tuong do chinh minh lam ra. Anh: Nguyen Dong

In 2004, Nho passed the entrance exam for the Sculpture Department at Hue University of Arts (Hue University). Throughout his five years as a student, he stayed at the stone workshop, carving statues to earn money for tuition and living expenses.

At the 2006 Hue Festival, a relative of the late musician Trinh Cong Son purchased Nho's portrait statue of the musician. This person subsequently sponsored the cost of creative materials until Nho graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2009.

Creating clay models from photographs

The Non Nuoc craft village has long operated through oral tradition and folk experience passed down through generations. Many stone artisans often carve directly onto large stone blocks after viewing two-dimensional photographs, which can lead to anatomical inaccuracies and a lack of expressiveness in statues of historical figures.

Nho decided to create clay models for the statues. This work requires artisans to have a firm grasp of skeletal structure, muscle mass proportions, and drapery folds. If the clay model is not precise, flaws will become apparent when the product is scaled up in stone, and these cannot be corrected.

Nghe nhan Nguyen Van Nho tao phoi tuong Thanh nu Monica. Anh: Nguyen Dong

The model-making process begins with welding a load-bearing iron frame, building up individual clay blocks, and refining the three-dimensional form. Once the clay model is complete, the artist proceeds to cast a plaster mold for transfer to stone workshops for execution.

Currently, many facilities utilize 3D scanners and CNC cutting machines in production. However, machines can only carve the rough outer shape based on digitized data. To complete a work, the model maker must still directly refine intricate details such as eye sockets, mouths, and smiles.

"This stage determines the soul of the statue, which technology cannot yet replace the human hand", Nho said about the craft that has defined half his life.

Having observed Nho's work and collaborated on several art projects, sculptor Pham Van Hang highly values the young artisan's technical foundation.

"Nho possesses great skill and a solid, stable sculpting technique from his formal training. His works have a gentle, meticulous quality. Most importantly, he practices his craft with ethics, composure, and without ostentation", Hang commented.

Free vocational training for the younger generation

In Non Nuoc stone village, the number of people specializing in sculpting clay models is currently very small. Many workshops only hire model makers when they secure large contracts, and there is no fixed specialized unit for the model-making stage.

Nhung nguoi tho tai xuong hoan thien khuon thach cao truoc khi chuyen mau cho cac tho da che tac. Anh: Nguyen Dong

Furthermore, the dusty environment and strenuous nature of the work lead local young laborers to shift to other professions. This creates a risk of a shortage of skilled sculptors for the heritage craft village.

To maintain a successor workforce, Nho is preparing to open free classes on stone statue modeling techniques for local youth. The substantial workload at his workshop is expected to create jobs for skilled laborers.

"For statues of historical figures and large projects, the clay modeling step determines the soul of the work. I want to equip the younger generation with proper sculpting techniques so that the craft village can develop sustainably", Nho stated.

Nguyen Dong