Who is Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo?

Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo is a textile artist, teacher, and author of Threads of Awakening: An American Woman’s Journey into Tibet’s Sacred Textile Art. Part art book, part memoir, part spiritual travelogue, Threads of Awakening is the first book to explore the rare Buddhist art of silk appliqué thangka by one of few Westerners to have mastered it. A blend of adventure, art, and introspection, the book includes 49 color photos and a foreword by the Dalai Lama.

Leslie followed her curiosity from California to India and landed in a Tibetan sewing workshop next door to the Dalai Lama. There, trained by two of the finest living Tibetan appliqué artists, she learned to stitch bits of silk into elaborate figurative mosaics that bring the transformative images of Buddhist meditation to life. Her artwork has been exhibited internationally and featured in the documentary, Creating Buddhas: The Making and Meaning of Fabric Thangkas. She teaches the craft to women around the globe 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.