Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo
Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo is an American textile artist working in a Tibetan tradition. In her fabric thangkas, the sacred Buddhist images of Tibetan thangka paintings are rendered in vivid mosaics of silk. Most thangkas are painted on canvas, then framed in brocade. But in Leslie's thangkas, the images themselves are stitched patchworks of satin and brocade.
Leslie studied environmental design and women's studies at the University of California in Santa Cruz and urban planning at UCLA. After working in housing development for a few years, her travels took her to India where she volunteered in the Tibetan exile community. There, she discovered Tibetan appliqué and entered a four-year traditional apprenticeship to learn to create these sacred cloth images herself. Eighteen years later, Leslie is still one of the only westerners to have mastered this rare art. Leslie's story is the focus of the 2008 documentary film, Creating Buddhas: the Making and Meaning of Fabric Thangkas, which tracks her creation of a Green Tara thangka. In everything she does, Leslie's aim is to help people create beautiful, inspiring spaces for their lives and to use all of life’s opportunities to become free to live joyfully.
In addition to creating original artwork on commission and for sale, Leslie teaches her skills to dedicated students around the globe through her Stitching Buddhas Virtual Apprentice Program.
All orders will be shipped in 10 business days. Prints are Inkjet Giclee on heavy Somerset Velvet cotton rag, signed by the artist and shipped in tubes, ready for framing. Original thangka quilts are also ready to hang and are made of mixed materials.
Look for Leslie's article Meditation with Needle and Thread in the March/April 2011 issue of Spirituality & Health magazine.
EVENTS
You can now meet Leslie and view a selection of her work on the First Friday of every month from 6 to 9 pm in Studio 80 at the heart of the Bell Arts Factory in Ventura, CA (432 N. Ventura Avenue, Ventura, CA 93001). Local learning opportunities will be introduced soon.
Buddha Shakyamuni and the Six Supports
Inkjet Giclee print on heavy Somerset Velvet cotton rag. 13" x 16" (approx). Signed by the artist on the front. Shipped in a tube, ready for framing.
$118.00 - Buy now
Chenrezig
Inkjet Giclee print on heavy Somerset Velvet cotton rag. 16" x 11" (approx). Signed by the artist on the front. Shipped in a tube, ready for framing.
$118.00 - Buy now
Lotus
Inkjet Giclee print approx 16" x 12". The lotus symbolizes our pristine potential rising unstained from the conditions of our lives.
$118.00 - Buy now
Three Mongolians
Inkjet Giclee print on heavy Somerset Velvet cotton rag. 11" x 16" (approx). Signed by the artist on the front. Shipped in a tube, ready for framing.
$118.00 - Buy now
Nomad Girls
Inkjet Giclee print on heavy Somerset Velvet cotton rag. 10" x 16" (approx). Signed by the artist on the front. Shipped in a tube, ready for framing.
$118.00 - Buy now
