Jane Adler
Artists
Jane Adler
Fiber Artist, Math Tutor, Programmer
Leonia, NJ USA
Statement
I've been involved in both art and math for most of my life. And I'm always making something: a program; a quilt; drawings; decorated cookies. In my programming heyday, starting before the first PC, I specialized in databases, user interfaces and 'real time' programming. Now I'm busy with quilt guilds and teaching math as a volunteer. I still try to find time to program, and it's still fun. I live near New York City, and was thrilled to hear the National Museum of Mathematics was opening there. This entry resulted from a presentation hosted by the museum, which introduced me to Marjorie Rice's work with pentagons.
Artworks
Marjorie Rice's 90th Birthday Quilt
11.5 x 14.5 inches
cotton fabric, polyester batting, thread
2013
At MoMath's February 2013 Math Encounters presentation, Doris Schattschneider discussed a favorite pentagon of Marjorie Rice, and invited the audience to make tessellations from this pentagon for Marjorie's 90th birthday, later that week.
Once Doris mentioned the angles of the pentagon (90,120, 60,150, and 120) I immediately realized they would fit perfectly on a triangular grid, and sent in a tessellation the next morning. The design of this quilt was inspired by this tessellation. In its center is a 'whirligig' tile composed of three of Marjorie's pentagons (three rotation symmetry of the primary cell on a 120 degree angle). This tile is then rotated six times on one of the 60 degree angles.
I've been making birthday quilts for over 20 years. Marjorie is the first person I've made one for whom I've never met. I hope she likes it!