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Which Thangka Painting Retreat are you joining this year? The Art of Thangka can be best learned and practiced in a retreat setting – a place where you’ll also stay and where dinner is served to you so you can fully focus on your drawing/painting. In addition there’s time to bond and socialize with other students, make long walks or do some sightseeing (Florence, anyone?). In a retreat week you can also learn to work with the traditional thangka painting techniques, so it gives a much deeper…

Wishing you a Buddhaful 2025! 🥂 Time to make your creative plans for this year 🎉

Stay warm and cosy with your loved ones

2025 Thangka Retreat in Tuscany€108 Discount for the First Ten Registrants! A short video made at the 2024 Italy Thangka Retreat. Check out the beautiful work space. 🇮🇹 Read this description in Italian or another language This retreat is taught in English, translation in Italian or other language provided on request €108 Discount for the First Ten Registrants Thangka Painting Retreat Tuscany (near Florence) May 10-17, 2025In this wonderful 8-day Thangka Retreat in Italy you will learn to draw…

– This is a still from the new video, scroll down to view it – Standing Guan Yin Seated Guan Yin Standing Guan Yin 🇺🇸 NOTE: this retreat in The Netherlands is taught in Dutch, translation is provided on request (in any other language) Read this description in English 🇳🇱Guan YinCursus op de Veluwe27-30 okt, 2024 Tijdens deze vierdaagse cursus leer je deze prachtige figuur te tekenen (en wellicht te kleuren of later te schilderen).Je ontvangt je de grids van twee verschillende vormen van Guan…

Dear Reader,In this newsletter: The Rubin Museum of Art in NYC has closed its doors. I was teaching there for many years. See my text and images about it and learn about their next chapter Join me in Venice, Italy next month! There are still a few spaces left You can also still sign up for the Guan Yin thangka course in The Netherlands Don’t forget: there are a few days left to use your 20% Early Bird Discount on online courses Love, Carmen 🇺🇸NOTE: this day in The Netherlands is suitable for…

Dear Reader, How was your Summer?I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have (we celebrated Tara’s sixth birthday!) see the pics in this newsletter. Herewith I present you the course program for this Fall/Winter so far, with a 20% discount on upcoming online classes for Early Birds. Additional classes may be added later. New in this newsletter is that the descriptions of some courses offered in The Netherlands will be written in Dutch and some of those in Italy wil be in Italian, as that’s…

Dear Reader, At home, on my altar with female Buddhas, I’ve had two statues of Guan Yin for many many years. A standing Guan Yin (here behind the daffodils) and a seated one, known for its ‘royal ease posture.’ These two forms are among the ones most depicted out of the 33 manifestations of Guan Yin that are mentioned in the Lotus Sutra (chapter 25). When Mahayana Buddhism spread from India to China in the 1st century CE, also its deities traveled along. Avalokiteshvara, the Indian…

Dear Reader, How are you?Hope you are enjoying your Summer! I just came back from hot New York City where I offered my annual thangka classes, there and in upstate NY -> Check the pictures in this email! The rest of the year I’ll be teaching in The Netherlands and Italy:From August 3-10 I’ll be teaching the Thangka Summer Retreat in The Netherlands again -> there are a few spaces left! In Amsterdam I’ll be offering a day class for new people on the Art of Thangka, and the four-day courses in…

Thangka Classes in NYC starting from next week 🇺🇸 You can still register! 🇺🇸 Introduction to Thangka Art Tibet House, NYC June 21, 2024 A beautiful evening with Carmen Mensink, where after her lecture on the art of thangka you’ll get to experience it hands-on by learning how to draw the Face of the Buddha according to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. This evening is suitable for everyone, including beginners with no drawing experience whatsoever; Carmen will guide you individually. The use of…