Alan Russell

Associate Professor of Mathematics
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Elon University
Elon, NC

I have taught a Mathematics of Origami course at Elon University for more than 10 years. As an artist, I work with sheet material including paper, wire mesh, and sheet metals.

Rings of Revolution
Rings of Revolution
10 x 8 x 8 cm
Cardstock which is gold on one side and silver on the other.
2015

In the history of vaudeville, there was an origami act called the troublewit. It used a single piece of paper with accordion and reverse pleats to tell a story. This piece was initially inspired by the troublewit.

This piece uses a single silhouette to show multiple solids of revolution. While I use large paper to show these concepts in the classroom, I had the idea to try this on a jewelry scale. I have created paper rings which can show solids of revolution. One is shown unfolded while the others look like a bottle or a glass as the silhouette is revolved about each vertical edge of the ring.

I can easily print these out and have students fold them to reinforce the concept in class. They think math jewelry is cool!