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May 13, 1947 - Nov 1, 2017
Leslie Fuller, an iconoclastic artist in several media including fabric art, drawing, makeup design and film making died at home in Sandgate, VT on November 1st after a long illness. She was 70.
Born in Pasadena, Ms. Fuller began working with cloth in Claremont, CA where she was raised. She studied in the California watercolor school at an early age, giving her a basis for color, technique, and a trained eye for the natural beauty of landsc...ape and light. With her pan-creative approach to the arts, she developed a synergy of disciplines including drawing, painting, fashion design and photography, which lead to an interest in filmmaking.
Ms. Fuller completed her MFA at The London Film School in 1969. She returned to California to continue studying photography and made practical Mandala Quilts from re-purposed cloth. Working large paralleled her 'big screen' imagination with full size quilts used both on and off the wall.
She moved to Sandgate, VT in 1971, enjoying a fruitful period as an Art Quilt maker, focusing on commissioned appliqu landscape pieces, which were collected and included in many gallery shows and fiber-art publications. She also produced small illustrations on paper, contrasting and complimenting the large quilted pieces.
'As my "Clothworks" evolved, I was always looking for a fresh palate to express my vision', Ms. Fuller said. This led her to begin painting on white silk satin with airbrush dyed elements.
From her fascination with the play of light on naked silk and an appreciation of the white-on-white quilted works from the 19th century, Ms. Fuller was inspired to begin making "Quilted Drawings". Combining her pen and ink skill in contour drawing and using her sewing machine as the drawing tool, the "Quilted Drawing" became a sensual, three dimensional representation of her subjects as abstract designs in clothing or framed art.
Ms. Fuller began her second career as a Make-up artist for motion pictures and television in New York City in 1980, the 'day job' to support her art work. This combined her skills in painting and photography with her keen interest in the interaction of people. Working on productions like "The Juror", "You Me and Dupree" and "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" gave Ms. Fuller a stimulating contrast to the simpler Vermont life.
She was also a member of the Valley Artisans Market in Cambridge, New York, for 29 years. Ms. Fuller's philosophy was, 'Being an artist is a point of view. Everything an artist does with that intent, is art.'
Ms. Fuller is survived by Rick Raphael, her husband of 37 years, their son Sean Raphael and her two brothers, Dr. James Fuller, MD and Tom Fuller.
SERVICES: A memorial service will be held at The Inn At Manchester on November 12th from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to WBGO FM at 800-273-1793.
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Bob Ruh (1965)
The personal picture of the "surfer girl" and the "girl on the beach" you did for me, will live on in my heart and memory untill forever.....as will you.
Cathy Cordova (1965)
Leslie was a kind hearted positive spirit throughout her life. She will be missed by all of the people she met through High School, College, work, and most of all her family, her husband and son. I was fortunate to have gotten to know her over the last few years, chatting through emails and Facebook. She wanted to come back to Claremont and visit again at one of our reunions but her work schedule clashed with our gatherings. How I wish we could have seen her again. She shared some beautiful photos with me that she had taken over time. Her talent for taking pictures was also a gift that she had among so many artistic abilities. Her husband was kind enough to share Leslie's daily journal with us over her last weeks of her courageous battle with cancer. Her humor and love for life was amazing. She wrote some beautiful fun notes that made us laugh, she never spoke of regrets. We were all lucky to have had her pass through our lives. Rest in Peace Dear Leslie.
Cathy Cordova, Class of 1965
Ann Platt (Walker) (1965)
Leslie and I became fast friends while we were at Sycamore. We lived just a couple of blocks apart, and I was at her wonderful house on Harvard Ave. so much that her family probably thought I’d moved in! The two of us spent hours playing board games (remember Careers?), building forts in the yard, making crazy after-school snacks (bread and wild onion cannonballs!), or inventing stories that involved our toy horse collections. We were fixated on Marguerite Henry books, and fantasized about having our own horse (obviously, not “in the cards”)! In 7th grade, Leslie and I heard that they were trying to diminish the wild burro population of Death Valley—giving them away to anyone who could promise to care for them. Figuring that this would be the closest we’d ever get to having a horse, we spent weeks trying to convince our parents that we could adopt a burro—which of course we’d keep in a corral we’d build in the wash across Mills Avenue, where Pitzer College now is. Alas, no burro. Leslie’s and my paths diverged in high school, but we kept in touch through college—visiting each other in Florida and Pennsylvania. By this time, Leslie was already an accomplished and unbelievably imaginative and creative artist. Her letters would often include elaborate pen and ink drawings, which I’ve treasured and saved. We managed to keep in contact sporadically through our early 20’s, but lost track when we became involved in our careers. Last January, after finding and re-reading old letters, I tried again (unsuccessfully), to find Leslie’s address. I will always regret not having been more persistent, and wish that we could have reconnected before her untimely death. My heart goes out to her husband, son, and brothers. We have lost a kind, talented, and creative spirit, who added beauty to the world in so many ways.