Tuesday, November 4, 2008

String Theory

I studied politics and law at university but I shared a house with pure maths/computer science and chemistry/physics students and we often compared notes over cooking and cleaning up. It is testament to the teaching skills of my flatmates that, by the time I dried the last dish for the evening, I could give a passable impression that I actually understood the complex theories and principles they were expounding.

I'm sure that string theory (a scientific theory that uses mathematics and physics to try to explain how the universe works) came up in discussion at some stage. Here in my studio, I have come up with a much more simple illustration drawn from my scrap bag. Here's a "before" shot (approx 15x15 inches):

This is how it might look if I cut my piece into quarters:

Hmm, I'm still not sure what I am going to make for my next challenge piece...Perhaps I should call my flatmates for ideas. After all, one of them is a maths teacher now.

6 comments:

Kristin L said...

I love the rich colors you've used. You are familiar with the work of Gwen Marsten, right? She's got a book called Liberated String Quilts with all kinds of good stuff (personally, I prefer the antique samples to the project samples, but all the concepts are wonderful). Funnily, I'm working on a string quilt for my sister right now: half square triangles with one half solid and the other stringy. So many possibilities! Can we hope for a String Theory challenge quilt from you?

Anonymous said...

Perhaps but I have a shibori concept and a piecing idea that I would like to try first.

Unknown said...

Hmmm, Chaos therory is more appropriate for my 'studio'.

Unknown said...

Hmmm, Chaos therory is more appropriate for my 'studio'.

Nikki said...

I love how this challenge is causing us to reach out to all those Math people we have in our lives that usually aren't as involved in our art. This appears to be a community building challenge out of necessity.

Nikki said...

PS I love the rich colors!