Sola Fiedler, simply known as Sola, is a senior Canadian fiber artist, best known for her large-scale tapestry tributes to the cities that have hosted the Olympic Games. Her work captures the architectural and spiritual elements of each city, at that moment in time.

Since winning a prize in 1973 for Best Fiber Art in Vancouver, B.C., Sola’s work has been collected by a wide range of notable institutions and individuals such as the Key West Museum, the ResMed Corporation of San Diego, Canuck Place, Jim Pattison, the Sarah Mclachlan School of Music and the City of Surrey, B.C.

Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries across Canada and the U.S. including her own “Soft Space Studio” in Deep Cove, opened during her attendance at the Vancouver School of Art.

Over the next two decades, Sola traveled to the cities of Miami, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Sydney, Australia, weaving in public and on location. In 2001 she was awarded a Canada Council for the Arts grant to create the Salt Lake City Tapestry. Sola returned to Canada in 2009 to start work on the Vancouver Tapestry.

Born in 1936, Sola grew up in London during and after World War II, when reuse and recycling played a fundamental role in daily life. Her tapestries transform the idea of thrift and make it glamorous. Using yarn procured from thrift stores and estate sales, Sola creates inviting, colorful landscapes full of rich detail and a warmth that comes from its materials.

Her work has widespread appeal, and is more relevant than ever today, when young artisans worldwide are claiming craft traditions like weaving as their own.


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