2026 Joint Mathematics Meetings

Susan Goldstine

Artists

Susan Goldstine

Professor of Mathematics

St. Mary's College of Maryland

St. Mary's City, Maryland, USA

sgoldstine@smcm.edu

faculty.smcm.edu

View exhibition history

Statement

There are two things I have done for as long as I can remember: explore mathematics, and create things with my hands. In my professional academic life, these impulses have merged into my specialization in mathematics and the arts. I am particularly devoted to exploring handcrafts, especially those in the fiber arts traditionally viewed as feminine. The interplay between mathematics and fiber arts is endlessly fascinating, both in the ways that mathematics allows for a deeper understanding of knitting, crochet, weaving, and so forth, and in the ways that these crafts can illuminate complex concepts in mathematics.

Artworks

Image for entry 'The Fundamentals of Lace'

The Fundamentals of Lace

63.0 x 63.0 cm

alpaca/merino yarn, glass beads, wooden dowels

2025

This hand-knitted scroll exhibits the nine wallpaper groups attainable in standard knitted lace, where the only rotations that can preserve the pattern of eyelets are 180º rotations. Each of the nine designs is built from the same embellished Truchet lace block appearing in my 2018 work Fundamental Frieze Scroll II. Colored glass beads incorporated during the knitting process show the non-translation symmetries of each design. White beads mark reflection axes, gold beads mark glide reflection axes, and red beads mark centers of rotation. The symmetries of the four designs closest to the upper left preserve the knit stitches in the lace, while the symmetries of the five outer designs only preserve the placement of eyelets and beads.