Isidora Spielmann
Fiber Artist
Isidora Spielmann
“Born and raised in Vienna, Austria, I came to Canada in 1981 and, after travelling from the west coast to the east, I settled in Ontario. In 2023 I followed my dream and moved to Nova Scotia, and have called Cumberland County my home ever since. Always close to the forest and near water - a lake, a stream or the ocean - I draw my strength and creativity from nature.
My artistic career began as clothing and costume designer and patternmaker. I moved on to paint on silk for garments and wall pieces. When the dyes proved to be too toxic for my lungs, I began a long search to find my next favorite medium. This search brought me ten years of ceramics, a few years of concrete sculpture, basket weaving and painting with acrylics and oils. Curiosity and the wish to make all the useful items for life, and to make them beautiful, pushed me on towards learning.”
“Summer 2020, while hiding from Covid 19 in a cabin in the woods, my long time friend Elsa, a spinner and weaver, bestowed on me her entire stash of raw wool. Arthritis had stopped her from continuing her craft, and I was suddenly locked into relative solitude with a great amount of fibre from sheep, alpaca and silkworms. I began to felt and have continued on this wooly path ever since. With embroidery, crochet and spinning the fibres, combining it with found objects and other mediums, I tell tales of the forest.”
