FAITH STONE BIO first encountered thangka painting in At the time I was a young art student. My love the early 70’s in New York City while of art was immense, but I often struggled sitting in the Oriental antique store of with deciding on a subject to paint. Years a Imeditation teacher named Rudi. While I later in Boulder, Colorado, I saw an offering drew his portrait, he talked about the beauty for a class in thangka painting at Naropa of Tibetan scroll paintings, traditionally University. I knew that I had found my art. called thangkas. He spoke with sadness I felt that I was born to paint Buddhas and about the destruction of Tibet by the Bodhisattvas. It was a profound realization. Chinese Communists. As he spoke, I felt a stirring, an awakening in my consciousness. I have a traditional art background. I majored I knew that somehow thangkas were very in painting at Montserrat College of Art in important to me and I felt a responsibility Massachusetts and studied figure painting to help save this art form. I also felt a deep with renowned painter, Irene McCray, at ache in my heart over the potential loss of Rocky Mountain College of Art, in Denver. the amazing culture and people reflected Additionally, I have studied Japanese in their arts. woodblock printmaking, mokuhanga, with master artist and printmaker, Hiroki I have had a varied and interesting life Morinoue, in Hawaii. this time around. I was born into an Irish- Catholic family. I was the second of nine I began my thangka painting studies in children, all of us about one year apart. 1987 with three years under Sanje Elliot My father was the director of two zoos in at Naropa University. Since then, I have the Boston area and my family lived on painted under the guidance of several the grounds of the smaller, Stoneham Zoo, Tibetan Lamas and have painted for and now named after my father, the Stone Zoo. received guidance from Khenpo Tsewang Growing up with the animals made for an Dongyal and his brother, Khenchen Palden enchanted childhood. Unfortunately, my Rinpoche. I have been painting thangkas father died in a car accident and I became and drawing Buddhas for over thirty years. an adult at age thirteen. My brothers and sisters were not fond of my cooking, but I One of the highlights of my thangka painting got better. experience was painting a two-armed Vajrakilaya for the Khenpo brothers. This My father’s death left me heartbroken is a rare form of Vajrakilaya from a hidden and confused. I questioned my religious text that their father had discovered. They upbringing and started looking for a deeper guided me with every step of the painting meaning of life. This search led me to meet and iconography. The Khenpos’ students my first teacher, Swami Rudrananda, often then took photographs of my painting to called Rudi, at age sixteen. I moved into his Nepal and had Nepalese thangka painters ashram in Boston after I graduated from reproduce it as is customary with the high school and have been living in an tradition – we all share drawings. I was ashram ever since. happy to see my drawing and painting 19 Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal, Vajrakilaya thangka, and Kenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche Photo by Faith Stone shown by permission of Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal return to the source from where it came. best friend and has always been my biggest I have enjoyed the generous acceptance supporter. of my Tibetan teachers and have painted personal thangkas for them as well as doing For the past five years, I have been illustrations for a number of books. researching thangka woodblocks, which is the technique of carving a Buddha My dharma practice is rooted in Kashmir woodblock. This is now my primary Shaivism, which incorporates both discipline. Buddha woodblocks are a dying Buddhism and Hinduism. I have had the art. My dream is to preserve and revitalize great good fortune to meet and receive the tradition. I believe the real joy of teachings from many highly evolved Yogis, carving and painting Buddhas is in creating Yoginis, Siddhas, and Buddhist Lamas. I the space and environment for the deity to have the utmost respect and reverence reside. The idea is that once the artwork for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I am most is completed, the deity moves in. The grateful for the many teachers who have artwork no longer belongs to the artist. It is been so kind to me. Lastly, I am so fortunate the home of a Buddha. What an incredible to be married to a wonderful yogi husband, and wonderful thing to do – help manifest Baba Shambhavananda, who is my teacher, Buddhas. 20.