School for Tibetan Buddhist Art

In this newsletter, Tara and I present an overview of all Thangka classes offered Online and In-Person for the rest of the year. There's also a list of newly confirmed dates for 2027, so Save the date! Love, Carmen & Tara Met alternatieven voor wie al eens Groene Tara heeft getekend/geschilderd:Tara, beschermer tegen Vergiften | 21 Tara's | Witte TaraAlternatief: Tara, Beschermer tegen Vergiften, 21 Tara’s, of Witte TaraAlternatief: Tara, Beschermer tegen Vergiften, 21 Tara’s, of Witte...

Hope you enjoyed the Tibetan New Year celebrations online with me or with your family or sangha!Dear Reader, This Sunday it's World Animal Day. This international day of action is celebrated every year on October 4 to improve animal welfare standards and raise the status of animals worldwide. To celebrate this day I will offer a Workshop 'Drawing Animals in the Tibetan Tradition' in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (see below) Oct 4th is a good day to think about the incredible suffering of animals...

Hope you enjoyed the Tibetan New Year celebrations online with me or with your family or sangha!Dear Reader, On August 26, a sudden flash flood of the Bhote Koshi River struck the border area between Nepal and Tibet. You may have seen the horrific footage of the walls of water completely sweeping away people, buses, roads, houses, bridges, and even complete villages and infrastructure... The scale of this disaster is still unfolding. Currently close to 1,000 people have died and thousands are...

Hope you enjoyed the Tibetan New Year celebrations online with me or with your family or sangha! NEW Online Thangka Course at the School for Tibetan Buddhist Art ONLINE Met alternatieven voor wie al eens Groene Tara heeft getekend/geschilderd:Tara, beschermer tegen Vergiften | 21 Tara's | Witte TaraAlternatief: Tara, Beschermer tegen Vergiften, 21 Tara’s, of Witte TaraAlternatief: Tara, Beschermer tegen Vergiften, 21 Tara’s, of Witte TaraAlternatief: Tara, Beschermer tegen Vergiften, 21...

Dear all, In a previous newsletter I had let you known that the Dutch TV program 'Zin in Morgen' had been filming a full day during my Thangka Summer Retreat here in The Netherlands.Last week it was broadcasted.And now I can finally show it to you. This portrait shows me teaching and interacting with my students, who also show their artworks and speak about their experience. In the accompanying interview I speak about how I got in touch with Tibetan Buddhism, the importance it has in my life,...

Happy Diwali!The Festival of Lights -celebrated by Hindus and also by people of other faiths- started yesterday. It generally symbolizes the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance 🙏🏼 During Diwali, Rangoli is created at the entrance of a house -an art form of making temporary, decorative designs on the ground. They are created as an invitation to deities (especially Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth) and prosperity. Check out the beautiful pics that I...

Dear Reader, It's been a while since you last heard from me.Hope you had a wonderful summer and are enjoying the fall! 🍁 I certainly did. Besides the thangka painting retreat I gave in The Netherlands -where a TV crew came recording a full day to make a portrait of my work- I also enjoyed my free time in Amsterdam with festivals and friends. See the pics in this newsletter! A couple of weeks ago I taught in northern Portugal, where I offered a ten day Thangka and Meditation Intensive Retreat...

Thangka Art & Meditation Intensive Retreat 4th - 13th September 2025 PORTUGAL Brahma Vihara, North Portugal The Most Famous Tibetan Yogi and MysticThe Most Famous Tibetan Yogi and MysticThe Most Famous Tibetan Yogi and My Co-hosted by Burgs and Carmen Mensink, this 10 day retreat will be a very special and unique event giving students an immersive and nourishing experience while learning new skills whilst simultaneously working at your meditation practice. Learning to draw the Buddhas we will...

Dear Reader, Hope you're enjoying your Summer so far! ☀️I just got back to Amsterdam from the US, where I've been teaching in NYC and upstate NY, see the pics in this mail. It was great meeting so many of my long time students again (-and many new ones-and many new ones!)Currently I'm busy with all preparations for the Thangka Summer Retreat here in The Netherlands (full with waitlist), and I wanted to let you know that registration is now open for most thangka classes this Fall: Different...