Archive for the ‘fractals’ Category

Spending some time getting caught up with blogs….and wondering why Google burps up – on a regular basis – blogs I’ve deleted. There is enough OCD in me to want to keep my list clean. I think I may have discovered a permanent way to fix this….we shall see. But a lot of interesting stuff this week!

From NBC News, the diver who saved the dolphin.

Fractals – built from business cards – what a great student math activity this would be!

A lot of interesting stuff from the 365 Project. First up – tips for winter landscaping photography

Here’s some more amazing photography:

Fire and Ice, Jake Sorenson

A Muppet spoof on Downton Abbey – LOVE Lady Violet!

Quilling – an amazing technique, and check these out. Gorgeous!! Quilled Paper Anatomy by Lisa Nilsson

Alison Schwabe’s blog has a story about the tent makers of Cairo – absolutely fascinating. I would love to see the finished documentary.

The Textile and Fiber Art List is three years old! Here’s a celebratory video of over 400 artists and a sample of their work. Amazing eye candy!

Art Quilts Around the World just finished their new challenge – Portraits. (and yes, I’m one of them….) Loved looking through all the entries and overflowing with ideas!

And finally, a 360 degree look – from occipital.com. 360Verse. Very interesting.

Have a great week!!

It has been a bit, what with the holidays and all, but I am slowly getting back to being regular with the blogging. Mostly I’ve found some really cool videos that I hope I can get up here. Enjoy, and send me what you find on line.

First up is eye candy from the 365 Project. I’ve actually been to this spot – during the day, but it is gorgeous at sunset.

Old Point Loma Lighthouse by Jerry Plume

Also from 365 Project are their theme winning photographs for the year. The math person in me loves this geometry winner.

From Cool Hunting comes a look at a paper artist, Irving Harper. I love the texture that he is able to create.

Here is a pretty amazing video of driving in Norway along the Atlantic Coast. How would you like the job of building this road?? The road is built on several small islands and reefs, and is crossed by eight bridges, several roads and overpasses. This road is a view of the open sea, which is rare on the roads along the Norwegian coast. You can see fjords and mountains near the road. The spectacular road quickly became a tourist attraction, insofar precautions should be displayed while driving, because of the attendance of the road by the local population and visitors.

This is reminiscent of the art of Andy Goldsworthy, but even more fleeting. This is the balancing art of Michael Grab, from NPR.

 Ice palaces in Harbin, China – really gorgeous…..and oh, so cold!

I LOVE Chris Jordan, and he has some new work available on his website. He uses common objects to depict waste of one type or another to tell a story. He is amazing. Be sure to zoom in on each picture.

School Dropouts…..done in blocks

New video from recreational mathematician Vi Hart – whom I absolutely love – use her videos in college algebra a lot! Here’s a look at fractals….

Speaking of math, I thought this was pretty cool: (If you know the source, please let me know….)

And finally, one of my favorite math videos on how easy it is to misunderstand some of the basics of mathematics……

Have a great week!

Because of the pressures of daily teaching and correcting papers, I made the decision on November 1 to THINK ART every day, so on those days/nights when I was busy with school work, I would still treat myself to viewing some art. Now, that said, most of the art I tend to look at has an interesting math connection. Herewith, some interesting things I’ve found on line.

Chris Jordan does some very interesting photography work. You really need to take the time and look through all his exhibits. I am particularly fond of his “Running the Numbers” series. Here’s what he says about his second series, Running the Numbers 2:

“This new series looks at mass phenomena that occur on a global scale. Similarly to the first Running the Numbers series, each image portrays a specific quantity of something: the number of tuna fished from the world’s oceans every fifteen minutes, for example. But this time the statistics are global in scale, rather than specifically American.”

2,300,000 number of adults incarcerated in US prisons.

A Seurat masterpiece (Sunday in the Park)done entirely in soda cans.

Depicts 2.4 million pieces of plastic, equal to the estimated number of pounds of plastic pollution that enter the world’s oceans every hour. All of the plastic in this image was collected from the Pacific Ocean. You have to check out the website to see the close-ups of this.

Fractals are a relatively recent development in mathematics and art, thanks to computer programs. Fractal eXtreme is available for purchase, but just check out their gallery to get an idea of how gorgeous these are! And now…I just discovered a web ring of infinite fractal loop – I know what I’ll be doing when I’m not grading graphs tonight….

This is from the Number Theory Room of Linas Art Gallery. I don’t even presume to understand the math involved….

Just enjoy!