UC Students Explore Coffee Grounds in Paintings

March 21, 2025

Participants Practice Light-Dark Composition and Gradation

SURABAYA – Having economic value isn’t the only goal in recycling used goods. Unused items can also be creatively transformed to have aesthetic artistic value. The Student Executive Board of Ciputra University (UC) applied this philosophy by utilising coffee grounds. This idea was realised in an event titled the Coffee Painting Workshop.

The event took place at the UC Corepreneur Building last week (January 3). The theme “Crafted with Love” featured Christian Ticualo as an instructor. Christian has a background as a UC architecture lecturer and a practising painter. He explained the potential of coffee grounds to be reprocessed into something of artistic value.

“Imagine people who are used to seeing coffee grounds as waste, now realising that this material can be used to create interesting works of art,” said Christian.

The idea of ​​repurposing coffee grounds was enthusiastically received. A total of 32 people attended the workshop, including members of the general public and UC students. The participants participated in painting workshops guided by Christian. One example was a demonstration of how to draw an owl.

Participants drew on watercolour paper using brushes. The materials used were coffee grounds mixed with a little water. The resulting artworks employed unique artistic techniques. Participants honed their creative skills by applying monochrome techniques.

“The brown colour produced from coffee provides a platform for practising light-dark composition and gradation in painting,” explained Christian. (bad/kku)