Threads of Awakening, by Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo

Threads of Awakening, by Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo

Threads of AwakeningLeslie Rinchen-Wongmo is a textile artist, teacher, and author of: An American Woman’s Journey into Tibet’s Sacred Textile Art. A California girl who bought a one-way ticket to India and landed in a Tibetan sewing workshop next door to the Dalai Lama, she became one of few non-Tibetans to master the Buddhist art of silk appliqué thangka. Trained by two of the finest living Tibetan appliqué artists, Leslie learned to stitch bits of silk into elaborate figurative mosaics that bring the transformative images of Buddhist meditation to life.

Her pieced silk thangkas have been exhibited internationally and featured in magazines such as Spirituality & Health, FiberArts, and Fiber Art Now and in the documentary, Creating Buddhas: The Making and Meaning of Fabric Thangkas.

Leslie teaches the art form through her Stitching Buddhas virtual apprentice program, an online, hands-on course bridging East and West, traditional and contemporary. After two decades abroad, Leslie returned to southern California where she now lives with three cats and enough fabric to last several lifetimes.