Laura Shea
Artists
Laura Shea
Artist
Colorado, USA
Statement
I love creating complex polyhedral structures from beads and thread. My work explores classic geometric forms-whole and partial frame polyhedra, regular tilings and tessellations. I connect the component forms at contiguous polygonal faces to create chains and complex polyhedral structures. The open networks of tilings and frame polyhedra provide a magical space for light to play with glass that delights me.
Artworks
Thirty open framework bead dodecahedra with one blue bead each to become a hanging where each dodecahedron is positioned so that each blue bead sits at one of thirty different positions. The idea came from the article I wrote for Bridges 2013 where I considered various potential methods of creating color edge patterns in the truncated icosahedron. Working out the first iteration was a much less daunting task if I used the dodecahedron which has only 30 edges rather than the truncated icosahedron with 90 edges. I also created more new patterns for the dodecahedron. Just as writing the article made me see the bucky ball from the perspective of six I also began to see threes and fours in the dodecahedron.
Oriented Six
Angle Stitching Beadwork
2013
Great Rhombicosahedron sprouting eight truncated icosahedra with color patterns centered on sixes.