K. Velis Turan is based in the Hudson Valley Region of New York. Her work is mostly representational with a graphic and colourful vibe making it instantly likeable. She reproduces images in her own style through either ‘deconstructed Screen Printing, or a technique she calls ‘Canvas Mosaics,’ before quilting them. 

Firstly where are you based and where do you work?

I have a home studio which works well for me because I like to work at all times of the day and night.  When I need more space I use the whole house (living room and dining room — I print on the dining room table and set up folding tables to dry screens and printed fabric on) and even work outside in the warmer weather.

What is your background in textiles?

I have been doing textiles in one form or another from the time I could be trusted with a needle.  Like many others, my grandmother got me started early; crocheting, embroidering, making curtains, mending, repurposing textiles for the home.  She was an immigrant and while her situation in life got much better, she never forgot what it was like to be very poor.  I started making my clothes in high school.  I was always doing something with my hands, but when I found art quilting I knew I was where I belonged.

I am self-taught artist – I worked as a graphic artist in publications.  Through much trial and error and a few textile workshops, I have developed my own techniques and style.

Can you talk me through how you work?

My work is usually representational.  I see something or I have this idea of something I have seen, and it haunts me until I do something about it.  I take many photos – sometimes I’ll see something and have to go back to photograph it.  From the photographs, I make drawings until I am satisfied they are the way I want.  I don’t try to make it exactly as it is, that is what photographs are for.  Instead, I want to capture it in my style the the way I see it in my mind — so I sometimes flip things around to suit my eye.  I make a final ink line drawing (cartoon) that I use to enlarge either for a screen print or as a template pattern for a canvas mosaic piece.

How do you describe your art? 

Mixed media fiber art.  I have two different techniques I use all the time. The first one is “Deconstructed Screen Printing”.  I print on whole cloth then paint and color into it until I’m satisfied.  The second (which I have only been doing a short time) is “Canvas Mosaics”.  I use acrylic paints to paint and surface design (paint, stamp, stencil, etc) many sheets of canvas.  I then use a template and cut individual pieces of painted canvas to fit the pattern.  The canvas mosaic pieces are more graphic or abstract.  After either of the techniques is finished, I free-motion quilt into them.  

Would you say you are a quilter or more of a mixed media artist?

I am both, I can’t do anything without quilting it and I can’t quilt it until I have made it.  I think a piece is incomplete until it has been quilted and embellished.  I call my free-motion quilting, “Thread Strokes”, since they add definition, colour, texture and depth to every piece I do. 

What is it that appeals to you about textiles?

I always knew I was an artist but I could not find my niche.  I tried many things, oil painting, carving, enameling, ceramics . . . the list is long.   I got the closest to it with mosaics, and that is why doing canvas mosaics really appeals to me.  But working in fiber is my niche. I love colours, the feel and the way they look on the walls adds warmth and colour.

I know this is hard to answer but how long does a piece take to make from start to finish?

Yeah, that is a question that is really hard to answer.  My “Deconstructed Print” pieces take much longer because I print many pieces in the summer from drawings I have been doing all year long.  Then I work on them as I get to them — some quickly, some much longer for others.  The “Canvas Mosaics”  go much quicker because they usually are something I want to get out of my system right away.  I’m always working on many pieces at a time.

What are you most proud of in your artistic career so far?

Any time I sell a piece, I am very proud.  When someone likes your work enough to give you money and they want to live with it, that is the best feeling in the world.  I am very proud I finally found the artist that was living inside of me.  It doesn’t matter if my work sells or not.  I’m going keep doing it as long as I can because when a piece comes out really well, that also makes me proud.

Do you have any advice for aspiring textile artists?

Find your niche, your technique, and most of all your own style.  Take classes and workshops, look at other works in books, go to art galleries and museums but use every experience as a spring board from which you can launch your own individual voice.

www.kvelisturan.com 

https://www.instagram.com/kvelisturan/