Georgina Ryan

Statement

I am a DPhil student in applied mathematics at the University of Oxford where I model electrochemical systems. I use embroidery as a focus tool, especially during long seminars. Last year, I founded an outreach project called ‘Threaded Theorems’ to introduce crafty members of the public to research-level maths concepts through embroidery. I produce free, simple embroidery patterns depicting mathematical concepts. Maths is often seen as a male-dominated practice, and I want to challenge that by embedding maths into the traditionally feminine craft of free-stitch embroidery. Each Threaded Theorems piece invites people to learn about unfamiliar mathematics through the slow, embodied process of making their own version.

Artworks

In combinatorics, a tree is a special type of graph where nodes (dots) are connected by edges (lines) with no cycles. This embroidery depicts a full binary tree as a Japanese cherry blossom. The tree’s binary branching is taken uniformly for eight iterations, and the nodes are arranged such that the tree has a vertical line of symmetry. This creates a sense of tranquillity and zen. This tree has 127 total internal nodes, so the possible number of alternative binary trees of this same size is the 127th Catalan number (on the order of 10^73). This work is part of Threaded Theorems, a mathematics outreach project inviting the public to create mathematical embroidery by providing free digital templates.