My work is aimed at challenging those inside and out of mathematics to experience mathematics indirectly in various ways. I select relatively simple themes and find a way to represent them using clay. Then, I ask questions about the implications (mathematical and not) of interacting with the piece visually and physically. I intend to explore the intersection of math and art and how individuals with varying levels of mathematical awareness interact with themes expressed in abstract ways. The intersection of art and mathematics is important to me because it allows me to push limits and challenge perceptions that mathematics is not creative, beautiful or visual.
Artworks
Characteristic of a Teapot
24 x 33 x 18 cm
Ceramic, Cone 10 Reduction
2019
This piece was inspired by the torus teapot, which is a piece often built by novice ceramicists. The torus teapot itself already raises many topological questions. However, I wanted to go further by physically deconstructing the torus and putting it back together. Doing so raises questions about what happens visually and mathematically when a torus is cut up and pieced back together in a seemingly random way (even if "cutting" isn't a valid transformation in topology). Given that it still exists as a teapot (you can pour water in the top and it will flow through the torus segments and out of the spout when poured), can you identify the Euler Characteristic of the Teapot?
Photography by Jeff Sabo.
I designed and created ceramic topology pieces to be put into a display case in the math department at Miami University. The ceramic pieces and the themes they represent were presented at the Visualizing Math Conference at Miami University in September 2018. This Mobius Loop was among them and I chose to include it in this submission simply because of its aesthetic. I find the simplicity behind creating a Mobius loop out of a strip of paper fascinating and I chose to accentuate that singular surface by inscribing waves that invite the viewer to run their fingers across its infinite surface and appreciate its simplicity while also considering its topological complexity.
Photography by Jeff Sabo.
