Debra L. Hydorn

Statement

I enjoy creating artwork that reveals patterns or that involves a puzzle that I solve. During a presentation on the artwork of Sol LeWitt at MathFest 2024 I learned about Conceptual Art and his statement "The idea becomes a machine that makes the art." This lead to my exploration into patterns generated by a form of Bulgarian Solitaire using n distinct objects. I have also developed new forms of corner and edge matching puzzles including ones that use 16 squares with a smaller square in one corner and 0, 1, or 2 diagonal lines. To solve the puzzle I find a 4 by 4 array of the 16 squares and then create rules for how to color the squares.

Artworks

In this version of an edge-matching puzzle, I created 16 squares each with a smaller square in one corner and 0, 1, or 2 diagonal lines. The artwork consists of 4 blocks of a 4-by-4 solution to the puzzle. The figures surrounding each window are colored so that each row and each column have one each of four colors surrounding the windows. The window solution to this puzzle was inspired by the opening scenes of "Only Murders in the Building."