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DEL MAR — Istanbul, Turkey’s capital city of 10 million people, is located more than 6,000 miles away from San Diego. But Maura Harvey, a longtime artist and former mayor of Encinitas, has learned that the world really isn’t that big after all.
Harvey, who now resides in Del Mar, departs for her monthlong stay in Turkey on Sept. 9. Her art exhibit, “California Dreams in Turquoise” will be on display in one of Istanbul’s public art galleries. The exhibit will include 10 collage works, 17 acrylic paintings and one oil painting.
The opportunity to show her artwork in Istanbul came about as a stroke of luck. Harvey has traveled to many other countries, including China, Spain and South America. It was during her first visit to Turkey in May 2006 that she met up with her good friend Anne Patton, an Olivenhain resident.
“We found out just before I left that we’d both be in Istanbul,” Patton said. “So we planned to make a connection. I was on a tour with a tour guide who happened to be an artist.”
That artist’s name was Haluk Mutlu and the networking didn’t stop there — it turned out that one of Mutlu’s uncles had lived in Encinitas for more than 20 years.
“My husband and I became friends with Haluk, and his wife is an entrepreneur and art consultant,” Harvey said. “He asked me if I wanted to have an art show in Istanbul, and I said ‘Of course!’”
According to Harvey, her fascination with Turkish culture and architecture began in the 1960s when she was studying abroad in Spain.
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“I think it’s such a beautiful country,” she said. “I saw pictures of these magnificent structures in the capital, and I had no idea that Istanbul would be so dramatic and exciting.”
Harvey, who teaches Spanish part-time at UCSD, said she paints five to six hours a day in her private studio. Her passion for art sprouted at a very young age.
“I would describe my style as naive expressionism,” she said. “I like to have an immediate style that is readily understood by people.”
She added that her goal is to have her work be emotionally exuberant and whimsical at the same time. Her focus is often on the migration of animals and people.
“My inspiration is nature and people in general,” Harvey said. “People from other cultures are also one of my major inspirations.”
Harvey’s 91-year-old mother, Julia MacWhinney of Olivenhain, said her daughter, whose four years on the Encinitas City Council included a one-year term as mayor, is something of a renaissance woman.
“She has served as a politician, a teacher and she also writes a lot of poetry,” MacWhinney said. “Maura has many talents and she has been very active in the community.”
As she prepares for her journey to Istanbul, Harvey said she is most looking forward to interacting with the locals and sharing her artwork.
“The people over there are very friendly and warm,” she said. “They are interested in learning about other cultures and they are very genuine.”
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