2025 Joint Mathematics Meetings
Heather Ames Lewis
Artists
Statement
I use knitting and crochet to explore mathematical ideas. I like the challenge of research and design, and the opportunity to create a tactile article that illustrates mathematics in a fun and interesting way.
Artworks
There are 11 different nets of the cube and 11 different nets of the octahedron; each can be embedded into a convex figure and folded to create the polyhedron, with magnets holding the sides together. Mini-polyhedra illustrate the final result.
Interestingly, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the nets: edges that are “cut” to make a net for the cube are left uncut in the corresponding net of the octahedron, and vice-versa. Colored stitch markers highlight this correspondence. This collection contains all 11 sets of dual-nets and mini-polyhedra, with the photograph showing the detail for one set.