Colcha embroidery artist Annette Gutierrez Turk (biography by Rebecca Abrams, September 2020)
“All of that depth just comes from your soul. I love it." ---Annette Gutiérrez Turk
Annette Gutiérrez Turk (b. 1944, Albuquerque, New Mexico) is a 16th generation New Mexican who was raised and lives in Albuquerque. Annette fell in love with colcha embroidery in 1997, when she was introduced to the stitch at the National Hispanic Cultural Center by Mónica Sosaya-Halford. In 2009 at El Rancho de las Golondrinas, a living history museum south of Santa Fe, Beatrice Maestas Sandoval mentored Annette, teaching her to spin her own yarn with the malacate and spinning wheel, dye her own Churro wool with native plant materials, and weave her own base cloth. Annette is an active member of the Sandia Mountains Chapter of the Embroiderers Guild of America. She teaches colcha embroidery locally, regionally, and nationally. She regularly exhibits her work in the annual juried Spanish Market, where she is honored to have been awarded 1st place in the Collaboration and Utilitarian categories in 2016 with woodworker, Fredrico Prudencío. Their intricate sewing boxhas a permanent home in the collection of the Spanish Colonial Arts Society in Santa Fe, NM. Annette has exhibited as far away as China, where she represented the United States in the United Nations-sponsored International Folk Crafts and Cultural Products Exposition in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Her work is in the collection of the Guizhou Ethnical Culture Museum, Guizhou, China, and many private collections. Annette loves flowers and birds and incorporates them into her pieces, which she describes as innovative within tradition. Annette uses colcha embroidery to create everything from bracelets and necklaces to elaborate garments. Best of all for Annette, she says, "You can't worry about anything when doing colcha embroidery. It just calms you down. It's very therapeutic."
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Gallo en el Bosque by Annette Gutiérrez Turk
Shawl, table runner, or bed footer worked on natural-colored sabanilla ground with natural-color handspun Churro wool yarn. 100x22 inches (including 6" fringe).
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Detail of Gallo en el Bosque by Annette Gutiérrez Turk
Shawl, table runner, or bed footer worked on natural-colored sabanilla ground with natural-color handspun Churro wool yarn. 100x22 inches (including 6" fringe).
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Bordado Flor by Annette Gutiérrez Turk
Wall hanging in natural-dye handspun Churro wool yarn on sabanilla ground. 37x27 inches.
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View one of Flores by Annette Gutiérrez Turk
Colcha embroidered in natural-dye handspun Churro wool yarn on sabanilla ground, for use as a shawl, table runner, or bed footer. 100x15 inches.
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View two of Flores by Annette Gutiérrez Turk
Colcha embroidered in natural-dye handspun Churro wool yarn on sabanilla ground, for use as a shawl, table runner, or bed footer. 100x15 inches.
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Desert Quail by Annette Gutiérrez Turk, colcha embroidery on handwoven cloth, 15” H x 16” W (from the artist's collection)
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Florita by Annette Gutiérrez Turk, colcha embroidery on handwoven cloth, 14” H x 16” W (from the artist's collection)
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Colcha Embroidered Bracelets by Annette Gutiérrez Turk, colcha embroidery on silver (from the artist's collection)
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Colcha Embroidery Wall Hanging by Annette Gutiérrez Turk (from the artist's collection)