Style Imitating Art…
Welcome back for my interpretation of a beautiful piece of needle art. Salazar, Shelbee, and I are the curators. You can think of this series as fashion meets art museum! SIA challenges people to find inspiration in different art works, create looks based upon that art work, and share them with the curator for that piece. Shelbee selected this beautiful thread painting for us. I hope you enjoy this post, the information, and my interpretation.
How it works…
Every other Monday one of us selects an inspiration piece of art and posts the image on their blog. We then invite others to interpret that art work through their style. The following Monday, we share our outfits. The curator shares submissions the following Wednesday on her blog. Shelbee chose this week’s art work for this round of Style Imitating Art. If you’d like, you can read why she chose it here. Please send your photo to her by Tuesday, August 25th, 2026 by 10 pm EST. Style Imitating Art is an interesting way to inspire your outfits. You can see a few of my looks here, here, here, and here.
The artist…
Sila Gur was born in Turkey, but I couldn’t find out exactly where. She is about 41 years old given that she gave an interview in 2019 when she said she was 35 years old. She studied Fine Arts in both high school and university while still living in Turkey. She also studied Fashion Styling in New York City. In 2018, she and her husband relocated to Scotland for his job. I believe they live in Inverness with their daughter. When the small family moved to Scotland, Gur began looking for something to occupy her time besides just building a new home in a new country. She wanted to use the creativity that is “at the core of who I am.” As she began experimenting with different mediums, she eventually discovered embroidery. Gur believes hand embroidery enables her to use all her artistic skills in one medium. I believe when you look at her art (here), you’ll agree she has definitely combined fashion with art and come up with something uniquely beautiful. I find it very interesting she calls it thread art as opposed to embroidery. I’m not sure of the distinction. But, hey! I’m not the one selling works of art for thousands!
A little more…
Gur is a self-taught artist who just happens to use cotton thread and various backing materials to create some of the most amazing needlework! She discovered embroidery in 2018 and has been making beautiful embroideries since then. She says, “…but it wasn’t until I discovered embroidery in 2018 that I truly found my calling. The art of thread painting allows me to merge my diverse skills into one beautiful form of expression, and I’ve been hooked ever since. My work is deeply influenced by the textures, colours, and boldness found in fashion and street style. I’m inspired by the details, the little things that often go unnoticed, and I bring them to life in my embroidered pieces. Each creation tells its own unique story, and every stitch is infused with love and passion. I want my art to be an immersive experience, inviting you to get lost in the layers of texture and detail, and transport you to a different world.”
The materials…
Gur uses a variety of background fabrics…denim, linen, lace, Aida cloth (most often used for cross stitch), and even tulle! With all these different mediums, Gur creates textures one wouldn’t necessarily associate with embroidery. You’ll notice the outlines of bodies are usually just a single black line. It’s in the clothing that the fashion just screams through! Take a look at Girl and the Umbrella if you don’t believe me! Your eyes will say, “That’s not thread” even as your brains says, “Yes, it is.” Her artistry with a needle and thread convince you you’re looking at a leather jacket even though you know it’s thread! The texture of the jacket as well as the girl’s hair will have you denying it’s needlework! Trust me…go and look here (you’ll have to scroll down a bit)! Gur says, “For instance, I leave the body as a single black line, but the outfit is super realistic with all the details. Also I like knit, denim and lace textures a lot. These textures are definitely contrast with each other and I love mixing them.”
In the beginning…
Gur has a little one (who probably isn’t that little these days) so she tries to embroider during nap time. She uses a hoop stand to embroider in order to use both hands. If you’re curious, just head over to her Instagram and watch some of her videos. I had to chuckle when I read her explanation of storing her embroidery threads. First, she used cardboard rolls to wind the threads around. After acquiring more than 100 colors, she got plastic bobbins and a thread organizer box from DMC. She has organized her threads according to color schemes though I’m not entirely sure what she means by that. I mean, it could be neutrals, bold colors, light colors, color families, etc. Anyway, it works for her!
Still more…
If you embroider, then you know there are a plethora of stitches. Gur primarily uses long and short stitches “in a freestyle fashion that’s very intricate and quite realistic.” As for inspiration, she finds it most anywhere she looks. She does acknowledge combining all these thoughts and ideas into one piece of art can be hard. She wants to tell a story with each piece. Again, Gur says, “It’s fun to imagine the possibilities, but it can also make it difficult to pull all the ideas together to work in harmony to tell a story. Every day I have new thoughts about ways to make hair, maybe adding a scarf, making denim trousers, or what colour palettes I could use.” These new thoughts and ideas can and do occur in the middle of creating a project.
Her process…
When she began, Gur used cheaper products which generated less than ideal projects. Eventually, she found her way to DMC threads with the occasional Gütermann machine threads if she can’t find the exact shade she wants. Her process is really interesting to me. First, she sketches out the project with a pencil on A4 paper along with any notes she might need or think of. She then takes a photo of the drawing and imports it into the ProCreate app on her iPad. That “allows me to add details, play with colours and experiment with backgrounds.” Next, she redraws the new design on her fabric, using an erasable pen (a Pilot Frixion heat erasable pen). After she finishes the embroidery, she uses a blow dryer to erase those pen marks…genius!
Fronts and hair…
You’ll notice Gur rarely shows the front of the figures she’s embroidering. She does that so there’s no reveal of who the people might be. She draws joy from people who tell her the piece reminds them of their daughter, mother, or friend! I wonder if it’s also because faces are notoriously difficult to draw. Another Gur specialty is hair! Just take a look at the hair on some of her artwork! She admits it is challenging because of the textures, movement, and colors of hair. Practice played a huge part in the evolution of her technique. At first, she used six different colors. Now, she may use more than 20 different colors in order to make the hair look realistic. Her favorite style? Braided hairstyles! Gur says dark hair is easier than blonde or copper hair. Wavy or curly hair is also more difficult than straight. I wonder what she’d think of the three of us (Salazar, Shelbee, and me). In fact, at one point, Gur even offered a course on how to embroider hair!
Finally…
Gur says her favorite and least favorite parts are the same: “preparing my work for the customer. Once a work is sold I do the back of the hoop (cover it with circle shaped felt) and then packaging. It’s so exciting and happy feeling that your work is liked and purchased by someone. But it also makes me a little sad by knowing that it’s going somewhere in the world and I’ll never ever see it again. It’s like love and hate relationship I can say…haha!”
The artwork…
Boho Series No. 3: Wild & Free, 2024 is contained in a hoop with a 6.5 in (17 cm) diameter. It is linen fabric and cotton threads. I poked around the internet and couldn’t find anything on who bought it. But, someone has this beauty in their home. I wonder if they have the other pieces in this particular series. You can watch Sila working on this piece here.
Sources…
My interpretation…
Well, as usual, I totally missed the mark! I could have sworn there were blue flowers in this embroidery! I think it may have been because I knew there were flowers. I knew the background was beige. And, I knew I had a dress that had both of those things! I chose this Gudrun Sjödén dress because I was absolutely 100% convinced the flowers were blue! So, to compromise, I also added a green slip for the green stems of the flowers! One of these days, I’m going to be better, I promise! But, I do believe it works for the art! You may have noticed how my hair has grown! This is a wig from Wigshe and was gifted to me. It’s human hair and is absolutely incredible! I am going to have to work a little harder at styling it because I never had hair this thick! Any tips are appreciated!
The Lewk!
These Gentle Souls Caplin espadrilles worked so well with this art because they mimic the threadwork along with the top of the hat. They aren’t available in this color and are in two colors but limited sizes. I decided to lean into the boho side of this piece with my accessories. I think the woven J Jill earrings (old) worked well for that. Then, I just picked out a necklace (Bauble Bar, I think) and some bracelets that kinda went along.
Wrap it up, Marsha!
My mom taught me and my older sister how to embroider when we were young. I remember Friday nights being the night we would all sit around and embroider. But, my sister (Hello, Mary Louise!) probably would tell me that’s not right. I still have one of the many pillowcases I embroidered on those long ago nights. I was really happy with Shelbee’s choice, featuring a self-taught artist! So, can we talk? What kind of self-taught art do you do? What do you think of Gur’s process? Could you embroider hair like she does? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as quickly as I can.
Don’t forget…
If you want to be included in the Style Imitating Art round up, send Shelbee your photo by 10:00 pm EST, Tuesday, August 25th, 2026. Photos of everyone participating will appear on her blog on Wednesday, August 26th! If you’re interested in joining us, consider all of your options…the colors, the textures, the feelings they evoke! Come on, give it a try! I think you’ll love it!
Thank you!
I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for reading, commenting, subscribing or emailing! It truly means so much to me! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.
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Where you can find me:
Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style, Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, Suzy Turner, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World . I also link up with I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish as well as the Senior Salon Pit Stop and Slices of Life. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month as well as the Global Writing Challenge on the second Thursday. I now co-host Fashion Files with Amy at Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa every Tuesday. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, Cat, and Rena. I also host 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!