82 year-old Artist’s City Tapestries in Textile Walking Tour (Sept 20-Oct 2)

Fibre Artist Sola Fiedler (“Sola”) photo Jim Denker

“Leap and the Loom Will Appear” is an upcoming exhibition by 82-year-old, world-renowned Canadian Fibre Artist Sola Fiedler, known for her intricately woven tributes to cities that have hosted Olympic Games. Each hyper-realistic tapestry took the artist as much as five years to complete. Self-taught, Sola’s method is as impressive as the final piece: Using yarn from recycled sweaters, she meticulously weaves large-scale cityscapes in pinpoint detail, from the number of floors in a building to the colour of the trees and water. Her work captures the architectural elements and spirit of each city at that moment in time.

“Even a year or two after I’ve finished a tapestry, it becomes a historical document because [the cities have] already built a number of new buildings,” Sola says in her promotional video. “When I did the Las Vegas tapestry – because that was a nighttime portrait – I went out at night, and I was trying to actually weave light, and that was incredibly difficult.”

The show – which takes place in a 1500 square feet gallery on Granville Island – is part of the Textile Walking Tour on Granville Island, presented in conjunction with the Textile Society of America’s 16^th Biennial Symposium on September 19 to 23, 2018.

Leap and the Loom Will Appear runs from Friday, September 21 to Tuesday, October 2, 2018, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm daily and Friday, September 21, it will be open from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm at 1359 Cartwright Street on Granville Island, Vancouver, B.C., V6H 3R7.

The Opening Reception occurs on Thursday, September 20 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. The artist will be in attendance.