Artist · Da Nang, Vietnam

Drawing from the roots, dyeing with indigo, living slower.

I'm Nguyen Thi Hoa Tien. After nearly twenty years in software, I began again from the start: drawing in the atelier tradition, dyeing cloth with natural indigo on a small balcony, and telling that road honestly. I'm not an established painter — I'm on the way.

See the gallery Classes Indigo

Tien in a conical hat, hands stained with indigo, wringing out freshly dyed cloth beside a banana grove — Indigo-stained hands, at the dye vat.

From the roots: atelier · the way classical studios teachSeeing form, proportion, light and shadow before painting a picture. That's how I'm learning, and how I teach children — instead of copying a pretty picture to take home.

My story

I left a career at its peak to begin again.

“I didn't want my mind to be only on work while my children were still small.”

For nearly twenty years I worked in software outsourcing in Da Nang: developer, then project manager, then department manager. In October 2025 I stepped away to live closer to my family, to the things I love, and to God.

To be honest: I'm not yet a painter, and not yet an indigo artisan. I'm learning — drawing in the atelier tradition with New Master Academy, and dyeing with indigo since July 2026. What I do every week is teach children to draw from the foundations.

Where I am on the road

~20 yearsDeveloper, project manager, then head of software project production in Da Nang.
October 2025Left office work and began teaching children to draw from the foundations.
July 2026Learned to dye at the indigo vat.
August 2026My own small indigo corner on the balcony.
October 2026Opened small indigo workshops: shibori and beeswax resist.
Hoping forA space to show handmade work, and one day teaching art to children in remote areas of Vietnam.

Gallery

What I'm working on.

Atelier-style drawing, and pictures on indigo-dyed cloth — where I hope to bring in the culture and imagery of Vietnam's many peoples, seen with a modern eye.