“Your work is amazing--so powerful, so delicate, so beautiful, so modern and ancient and deeply, deeply felt. I was blessed to see it. Many thanks.”   - Basya Petnick   THE NEW HMONG PAJ NTAUB I often think of the old masters of the Renaissance who giggle like small children in a candy store, full of joy from the discovery of linear perspective, its vast potential and a new method of expression.   - I too, giggle with joy, at the thought of finally having an opportunity to explore core elements and characteristics of the most traditional and in my opinion, one of the best known art forms, the Hmong Paj Ntaub and the new, Hmong American Paj Ntaub, the Story Cloth.  - The Hmong Paj Ntaub is a traditional Hmong art form known in America in two basic variants.  The traditional version is a small textile with sewn abstract symbols and patterns representing animal and nature.  It has functional cultural identifiers, identifying the clan and family origin of the living and used to identify the deceased in the after life when used in funerals.  The other variant is the American Paj Ntaub that tells the story of life in the refugee camp and the journey to America.   - This is truly exciting because though the Hmong culture is very rich, little of its art has been written, documented or have been fully explored, due the modern Diaspora of the Hmong beginning in 1975.   - My body of work, to some may not appear at first, to be strictly ethnic or culturally based because traditional Hmong art tools, techniques, and in some cases not even the same media and or materials were used to create it.  Yet further examination reveals my intention to substitute the artist's brushy for the needle and paint for the threads of my ancestors, in the hope of taking this Hmong art form to a new level, while still maintaining its core elements. "Hmong Woman Sewing a Paj Ntaub" The Paj Ntuab has been widely accepted in all parts of the world as art form unique to the Hmong.  A Hmong woman would start learning this centuries old art form at a very young age. She would sometimes sew for countless hours without even realizing it.  The commitment and devotion that the Hmong woman put into this art form will and forever be timeless and most honorable.     "Peb Txoj Kev Kawm" Knowledge and skills have always been passed on from one generation to another.  i.e., the skills necessary to create the Hmong Paj Ntaub were passed on from mothers to daughters and from daughters to granddaughters. "Mother's Love" This is my tribute to all of the mothers out there. You and only you, our mother can truly describe the love that you have for us.  "Hmong Woman Playing a Hmong Flute" Hauntingly beautiful sound the Raj Npliam has when played by Hmong men and women. This is one of the more traditional Hmong instrument. "The One Thing" There are many things that life offers us. However, if there should only be one thing...what would be the one thing above things you would keep? "Nub Sis Looj" Nuj Sis Loob the legendary Qeej player. It was said that Hmong men envy him and Hmong women adore him because of his abilities and charisma when playing the Qeej.   "Leej Txiv (Father)" Our father, the one who carrys the heaviest load. Even though we may disagree at times, he would still hold onto us, still would protect us and guide us. "The New Paj Ntaub" Contempoary Hmong aritists have gone into substituting the artist's brush for the needle and paint for the threads of our ancestors, in the hope of taking this Hmong art form to a new level, while still maintaining its core elements. "Then and Now" I believe that we, the Hmong are some of the most resilient people to set foot on this earth. Then we were farmers, living in our ancestral homeland- high hills and mountains of China. Then we express ourselves with threads and needles. Now we are doctors, lawyers, educators, politicians and etc. Now, we expressed ourselves with paint and paint brushes.  "Assimilation" "Ncas" Limited Gold Giclees Print Stretched Canvas w/ frame Stretched Canvas w/out frame Watercolor paper Watercolor paper w/ frame MAX # of prints EXAMPLE:   "Hmong Woman Sewing a Paj Ntaub" (24"x36") $450.00 $350.00 xxx xxx 10 EXAMPLE:    "Hmong Woman Sewing a Paj Ntaub" (18"x24") xxx xxx $150.00 $275.00 10 EXAMPLE:  "Hmong Woman Sewing a Paj Ntaub" (16"x20") xxx xxx $125.00 $225.00 10 Fine "Giclee" prints of THE NEW PAJ NTAUB SERIES.  All prints are available for purchase.   Prices ranges from $150 to $450 depending on the different options:  -         Size (18"x24", 24"x36") -         Framed or not framed -         Archival Ink on Watercolor Print -         Archival Ink on Canvas Print - Limited Number of Prints (10 max) Please contact me if you have any questions. *Photograph by NIKKI YANGAll prints are available for purchase. The Giclee process is capturing the hearts and minds of artists, dealers, galleries and buyers as a beautiful alternative to traditional offset printing. In Giclee printing the ink is actually sprayed onto the canvas or paper using inkjet printing technology. All prints are produced using archival inks on canvas or watercolor paper. The quality of the Giclee print rivals traditional silver-halide and gelatin printing processes and is commonly found in museums, art galleries, and photographic galleries.  The color and vibrancy is so astounding it often fools the eye of the beholder, making it almost impossible to distinguish the print from the original. ABOUT GICLEE PRINTING:   The Definition : Giclee (zhee-klay) - The French word "giclée" is a feminine noun that means a spray or a spurt of liquid. The word may have been derived from the French verb "gicler" meaning "to squirt". The Term : The term  "giclee print" connotes an elevation in printmaking technology. Images are generated from high resolution digital scans and printed with archival quality inks onto various substrates including canvas, fine art, and photo-base paper. The giclee printing process provides better color accuracy than other means of reproduction. The Process : Giclee prints are created typically using professional 8-Color to 12-Color ink-jet printers. Among the manufacturers of these printers are vanguards such as Epson, MacDermid Colorspan, & Hewlett-Packard. These modern technology printers are capable of producing incredibly detailed prints for both the fine art and photographic markets. Giclee prints are sometimes mistakenly referred to as Iris prints, which are 4-Color ink-jet prints from a printer pioneered in the late 1970s by Iris Graphics. The Advantages : Giclee prints are advantageous to artists who do not find it feasible to mass produce their work, but want to reproduce their art as needed, or on-demand. Once an image is digitally archived, additional reproductions can be made with minimal effort and reasonable cost. The prohibitive up-front cost of mass production for an edition is eliminated. Archived files will not deteriorate in quality as negatives and film inherently do. Another tremendous advantage of giclee printing is that digital images can be reproduced to almost any size and onto various media, giving the artist the ability to customize prints for a specific client. The Quality : The quality of the giclee print rivals traditional silver-halide and gelatin printing processes and is commonly found in museums, art galleries, and photographic galleries. The Market : Numerous examples of giclee prints can be found in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Chelsea Galleries. Recent auctions of giclee prints have fetched $10,800 for Annie Leibovitz, $9,600 for Chuck Close, and $22,800 for Wolfgang Tillmans (April 23/24 2004, Photographs, New York, Phillips de Pury & Company.) ©1997-2009 Giclée Print Net, Inc.  Please cite source if using this information.