Weekend workshops with Ella Brewer (New Zealand)

Ella has taught art and art history for the last twelve years. She has a degree in fine art from Auckland University and teaching qualifications from Auckland and Britain. She is available to teach practical workshops on Buddhist art, in the style of her teacher Andy Weber. These courses typically run at FPMT Buddhist centers, although Ella has also taught night classes at adult education centers such as Art Station in Auckland NZ.

To invite Ella to teach please contact Ella.

Ella's Teacher Lama Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche gave the following advice on the benefits of making Holy objects which includes paintings or Thankas:

"Even if you teach Dharma to sentient beings, not everyone comes to listen. If you make holy objects then everyone can see, believers and non-believers - everybody gets so much benefit as Buddha explained. Because of the power of the holy object it doesn't require deep devotion or faith to gain all these benefits."

"Holy objects help other sentient beings easily purify inconceivable negative karma and create the causes of merit and extensive happiness, which definitely brings them to enlightenment quickly. Because it makes them create extensive merit, allowing them quickly to realise the path, it also helps them to improve their life very soon; from a difficult life with many problems - business problems, relationship problems, and many other things - to an easy life having perfect enjoyments, external and internal prosperity at the same time, realisations of the path and very happy, peaceful, inspiring death."

Comments from participants on How to Draw Buddha course held at the Dorje Chang Institute, Avondale Auckland in July 2004:

"I am not an artist, and as such, I was extremely happy with the image I had produced. During this course I learned a lot about the practicalities of producing aesthetic images, and I also learned a surprising amount about Buddhist spiritual theory."

"Ella is an excellent teacher. She captivated her audience with very colourful descriptions of the subject matter and entertained us with related stories. The age range of her students for this particular course was 16 to 50-something, and ranged from non-artists to art teachers. Ella was successful in identifying a pace we could all follow, and I think we profited more-or-less equally from her course. I would recommend the 'Learn to Draw Buddha' course to anyone who is interested in art or Buddhism."