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Resume: A newsmaker you should know / Gonca Teker shares her art, educates others about her native country, Turkey

Resume: A newsmaker you should know / Gonca Teker shares her art, educates others about her native country, Turkey

Gonca Teker has been a teacher and has worked other jobs, but she has discovered that she is first and foremost an artist.

“I was doing other jobs to pay the bills, but even though I was making good money, I felt like I had lost a part of my soul,” she said.

Ms. Teker has returned to her roots and is now an artist, selling her paintings, jewelry and fiber art while also preparing to teach dancing lessons.

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One of her paintings, “Bellydancer,” is on display at the North Hills Arts Center Regional Show, and another entitled “Falling Leaves” is soon to be on display at Northland Public Library through August.

A native of Turkey, Ms. Teker is also dedicated to teaching others about her homeland and culture. She recently established a Facebook page, “Turkish Soul of Arts.”

“I also love to cook, so I enjoy having people over for a meal or Turkish coffee,” she said.

Ms. Teker, 42, of McCandless, traces her artist roots to the town of her birth — Kayseri, Turkey.

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“I always ask myself why I am attracted to a certain color or form of art, and it always came back to my early years there,” she said. Although her family moved to the capital, Ankara, she remembers her father drawing portraits of her grandparents and the loving circle of her mother and six aunts.

“My mother was one of seven girls, and they all were very artistic. I learned crocheting from my favorite aunt. I think that has also instilled a love of teaching,” Ms. Teker said.

After secondary school, Ms. Teker earned a bachelor’s degree from Ankara University and taught for several years until she moved to Bulgaria.

“It was a wonderful opportunity. I worked, but I also was able to learn about the different culture — I love learning about new foods and the artwork,” she said.

After living in Bulgaria for about five years, she returned to her home for two years before moving with her then-husband to the United Kingdom for his career. After a brief return to Turkey, the couple came to Pittsburgh in 2010 for her husband’s career and research with their young son, Tan.

“When our marriage didn’t work out, I could have returned to Turkey, but Tan was already established. He had friends and played water polo. He really wanted to stay,” Ms. Teker said.

And she decided that she was going to do what she wanted — pursue her art full time.

“I realized that I am stronger than I thought. Women are strong creatures. And I decided what I wanted to do and took steps to do it. I’m taking one step at a time,” she said.

In addition to creating paintings for the art shows and preparing to teach dancing, she is selling her work, including hand-crocheted shawls and earrings.

With her Facebook page, Ms. Teker feels she is spanning the gap between her country of origin and her new hometown of Pittsburgh.

“When I meet people, they obviously notice my accent and ask me where I am from. Then they have all kinds of questions about Turkey,” Ms. Teker said.

Ms. Teker said she believes many people are surprised to learn various aspects about her homeland.

“They think that all of the Middle Eastern countries are alike, but Turkey is located between Asia and Europe and has its own culture. I like to take the curiosity out of it,” she said.

Ms. Teker is one of 43 artists whose work is on display at the regional show at the North Hills Arts Center, 3423 Babcock Blvd., in Ross. The show runs through July 4 and is open to the public.

One of the goals of the community art center, said operations manager Lisa Boehmke, is to allow new artists and artists who are new to the area, such as Ms. Teker, to display their work. 

“We want to be able to have people feel comfortable displaying their work. We are always looking for new artists to bring art to the community,” she said.

“We never charge for a show,” she added. “We want to make art affordable and available.” 

As she shares her art with more people and teaches others about Turkey, Ms. Teker said, it has been a learning experience in more ways than one.

“I have learned so much about myself and I want to teach whatever I can share,” she said.

Kathleen Ganster, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.

First Published: June 5, 2015, 4:00 a.m.

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