Annette Gutiérrez Turk

“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 16^th 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 box has 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."