|
|
Master painter and craftsman Lama Gyurmed was born in Tanay,
Tibet in 1969. His family sent him to the Mindroling monastery
upon the invitation of the head monk to study painting and
traditional arts when he was 15. Gyurmed's first teacher was
from Kham (Guangzhou) located in Eastern Tibet. After initial
study, he went to live with his principal teacher, Lama Tsekyab
in order to fully absorb the rich tradition of Tibetan painting,
of which his teacher was master. The famous paintings of
Korkyim Monastery were created by his teacher, during the period
when Tibetans were once again allowed to worship and rebuild
their temples and monasteries.
While still young Gyurmed became an adept in
Tibetan ritual and monastery traditions. He became manager and
rule keeper of the monastery and lead chants at Mindroling until
1998. He painted or assisted in the restoration of hundreds of
the temple paintings.
In 1998 he
was invited to teach painting at the Shanshung Institute in
Italy, one of the most important Tibetan Buddhist centers
outside of Tibet. He spent the next two years teaching
Westerners traditional Tibetan art and sculpture. During his
tenure at the Institute he studied Italian and English and wrote
an important history of Tibetan Art in Tibetan.
Lama Gyurmed made his first trip to the Unites States in 2001. Upon
his return to Tibet he conceived and began the G.L.A.S. Foundation,
a Tibetan run NGO devoted to the promotion of traditional Tibetan
arts in Tibet itself. It is focused on the establishment of a
Tibetan Art School in Southern Tibet, the first of its kind. In 2005 he returned to the United States to
raise money for the school and to continue his teaching of Tibetan
traditions and practices to Americans. He currently resides in
Santa Fe, NM with Yudrun, his wife and Trinley, their one year old
child,.
|
