Ceramic Painting Day

        Young people are always eager to learn and try new things. There is no better example of this than our dynamic BLIA YAD members. To enrich our learning experience, we are always willing to be exposed to new kinds of work, including ceramic painting. On April 18, 2004, a sunny and mild spring day, around twenty of us visited a ceramic and pottery studio in Oakville and spent the afternoon colouring various ceramic pieces.

        Our artistic creations were carried out in a private room. Every seat of the 3 large tables in the room was filled. Since there were many ceramic items to choose from, we took our time and carefully chose our favourite item to paint. A staff from the studio then gave us brief instructions, as most of us have never tried ceramic painting. She was very animated and introduced us to the art of coloring in a humourous way (for instance, we needed to use a “Harry Potter magic pencil” to write down our names on our projects), which magically turned us all into excited little kids.

        Colouring is not as easy as it seems. In addition to creativity, it also demands knowledge about ceramics, techniques of using various tools, properties of the paints, and the concentration to colour fine details. During the painting time, we encouraged our new artists and supported each other by giving positive suggestions for the emerging works of art. We worked hard on these paintings until the very last minute and everyone was already hoping to go back again.

        This colouring process can be compared to our cultivation, which requires clear and correct Buddhist concepts (getting to know the tools and materials) plus the effort to apply these concepts into our daily lives (concentration to colour).

        Overall, we greatly treasure the fun and meaningful memories we have from this ceramic painting day. If you have not tried painting ceramics, try it! It is definitely worthwhile to check it out!

Florence Fung

Back