Teal Guidici
Artists
Teal Guidici
PhD candidate
Statistics Department, University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Statement
As an artist who loves mathematics (or am I a mathematician who loves the arts?), I am forever looking for ways to combine these passions. Creating and knitting my own mathematically inspired knitting projects allows me to flex both my problem solving and artistic muscles. This combination of math and knitting serves not only to make abstract mathematics less intimidating, but also to expand the understanding of what is possible with knitting. Knitting abstract mathematical concepts allows me to share mathematics in unexpected way, while also creating something beautiful with my hands.
Artworks
Hyperbolic Plane 1
39 x 39 x 3 cm
silk and merino yarn
2016
I am inspired by the challenge of translating abstract mathematics into visual forms that anyone can enjoy. In particular, hyperbolic planes have intrigued me since they graced the cover of the Mathematical Intelligencer in 2001. This knit hyperbolic plane is based on the {3,7} polyhedral model of construction, in which equilateral triangles are put together 7 at a vertex.
This {3,7} model of construction reminds me of a flower or snowflake –a resemblance which inspired the pattern I created for Hyperbolic Plane 1.
Most knit stitch patterns are designed to have zero curvature. Creating stitch patterns to have both the negative curvature of a hyperbolic plane, and the desired visual characteristics is a uniquely satisfying exercise.