Elaine Krajenke Ellison
The demystification of mathematics is a common thread running through all of my mathematical quilts. Since the early l980's, I have envisioned and created mathematical quilts. Previous to this time I investigated bronze work, drawing, painting, glass, and photography. Settling on fabric as my medium of choice gave me a concrete way to express mathematics creatively and visually.
The inspiration for The Droste Effect came from an article in 2008 by Jos Leys. The article entitled "Behind the Droste Effect" detailed the mathematics behind the image created by M.C. Escher in his 1956 drawing "Print Gallery". The logarithmic image transformation method was analyzed by professor Hendrik Lenstra at Leiden University. This same transformation was to design this quilt using the Bird of Paradise flower as the central image.