Artist Sola Fiedler in 2017 with her ‘Canada 150′ tapestry – a handwoven 4’x8’ rendering of the Canadian flag made from recycled clothing. Photograph By DAN TOULGOET
A new exhibit will give Vancouverites the unique opportunity to check out some of local senior fibre artist Sola Fielder's incredible place-based tapestries.
The 82-year-old Fielder, who is typically known as just "Sola," has gained global acclaim for her woven artworks depicting major cities, including Vancouver.
The pieces span upwards of 12 feet, take years to create, and occasionally fetch in the six figures. And the work, painstakingly rendered by hand in her East Vancouver apartment, captures cities on the brink of change – Olympic cities, World’s Fair sites, the Vegas strip and the like – and is motivated, Fiedler told The Westender in 2017, by an urgent desire to preserve the character of these metropolises.
This upcoming exhibition, entitled "Leap and the Loom Will Appear," takes place in a 1500-square-foot. gallery on Granville Island, and is part of the Textile Walking Tour on Granville Island, presented in conjunction with the Textile Society of America’s 16th Biennial Symposium.
On display will be Sola's "Vancouver" tapestry, made of old sweaters. The piece took 5,000 hours to complete and was started in 2009, ahead of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
