How does an artist take a million feet of fiber, some powerful technology, structural engineers and crane trucks to make her vision become reality?  

Janet Echelman, a sculpture artist who develops netted works that move in the wind, installed her incredible work "Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks” on Vancouver’s waterfront this week.  

On view through March 22, the piece is at a scale never before attempted by Echelman. Spanning more than 700 feet, the piece is twice as large as her previous largest work, but takes on more than 10 times the wind forces.  Autodesk developed a custom software tool for Echelman to simulate the wind and weather on the piece, as well as analyze drape and form.  The company also provided major financial funding to produce the piece.​