Heather A. Dye
I quilt both objects that can be displayed and items that are used every day. Mathematics plays an important role in my design process - as a subject and an influence. I use Mathematica and Inkscape to design visual structures that appear in my quilts. I emphasize these structures through the use of color and texture. My goal is to share the strength of these structures.
"Catenary Summer" is inspired by the Gateway Arch and the colors
of the summer.
The Gateway arch is the dominant structure on the Mississippi
river; reflective and reflecting in the water. Robert Osserman's
article "How the gateway arch got it's shape?" provides additional
information about the catenary curve that determines the shape of
the arch. Using reflections and rotations, the quilt incorporates
multiple copies of the catenary curve; echoing the idea of
reflection. The triadic color scheme is influenced by the idea of
summer - green, blue, and orange. The color choices emphasize the
positive and negative space; creating catenary curves without
directly constructing the catenary curves.