Final Meeting

In our final official meeting with Lien was spent reviewing all the data. This is when he presented us with the conclusions and summaries of all we collected and observed.

Afterward he gave us each a gift - which was a huge surprise to all of us. One of the traditional forms of art here is called lacquer painting. I had seen it before but didn't really know what it was. It is a specialized art form of painting made from the sap of the lacquer tree.

The painting is done on wood. It is covered with a piece of cloth glued to it using the sap of the lacquer tree and then coated with a layer of the sap mixed with earth. The board is then sand papered and recoated with a layer of hot sap. After polishing, the smooth black surface shines with a brilliant luster.

This picture does not do justice to how lovely the picture really is - but hopefully you can get the idea. What you may not be able to see is that there is an inscription on the painting in the lower left hand corner - is says "Butterflies of Vietnam 2006." What a lovely gift.