Contact Information: 

Fran Solar
Garibaldi Highlands, BC
604-898-4377

www.francessolar.com
fsolar@telus.net

Work can be viewed at:

Mountain Galleries, Fairmont, Whistler
Numen Gallery, Vancouver

Frances Solar is a contemporary BC artist who combines  textile techniques with unconventional materials to create unique woven sculpture, both free-standing and wall-mounted. 

Fran studied at the University of Manitoba, graduating in 1960 with a degree in Interior Design. Her interest in design and textiles then found expression through weaving, which Fran pursued for many years. During this time she specialized in functional clothing and textiles, using traditional fibres and techniques. 

In the mid-1990s, Fran began to experiment with basketry as another textile art form, initially using traditional materials such as reed, but later developed an interest in combining metals with textile techniques such as loom weaving, basketry and quilting. Her materials today include copper, brass, stainless steel sheet and wire, and interesting bits and pieces of hardware and industrial surplus. These materials are further coloured through the use of heat and chemical patinas. 

She now finds she gets more satisfaction improvising arrangements of shapes, textures, materials and colours than she did as a traditional fibre artist and is intrigued with using these 'masculine' materials to create art with a feminine, domestic dynamic.