Friday, March 7, 2008

Art school exam

If you haven't heard from me since just after Losar, it's because there hasn't been much to say. Remy, whom I met in Bodhgaya at the Vipassana meditation retreat, came to Kathmandu, ostensibly for another retreat, but took a day to visit in Boudha. Here you can see me indicating to the guy using the camera how to hold the shutter button down halfway to focus before taking the photo.


Otherwise most of my time has been spent preparing for exams. The test is for three days, 08:00-11:00, and again 13:30 – 16:30 and consists entirely of drawing (except for Class 5, which has to do calligraphy, and Class 6, which has to do a full painting in 45 days). For Class 1 students like myself, we have to complete eight items of the ngondro (the preliminary practice) – leaf, lily, lotus, two kinds of clouds, fire, a decorative symbol with lots of curly bits, and a scarf. In addition, we have to complete a Buddha head/face, a Buddha body, and a Buddha body with cloth. It might seem like a lot, but it's really not considering we've spent the better part of a year practicing these.

In the two weeks leading up to exams I spent most of my time in my room drawing, the results of which you can see here.


I've spent the last three days hunched over my board, with a nice view of the room from the far corner.


In the opposite corner, Luka comes up for air.


My neighbor hard at work.


The seat for a guy with a name suspiciously similar to mine.


My last bit of work at Tsering for this academic year. It may not match the model exactly, but it is as perfect as I could make it at this time. With regular practice, I'll do even better next time.



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