Bridges 2026 Exhibition of Mathematical Art, Craft, and Design
Laura Castro Rosales
Artists
Laura Castro Rosales
Computer Science Student
Clemson Univeristy
Greenville, South Carolina, USA
Statement
My artwork is usually portraits of people using paint or pencils. However, I've now discovered the fascinating world of representing a mathematical concept using art and code. It has drawn me closer to patterns, nature, and the organized yet random layout of trees and nature.
Artworks
The four-point snowflake is made up of four trees, each with 169 nodes each. The 169 is the eight Pell number and comes from the sixth and seventh Pell numbers (29 and 70 with 29 + 2(70) = 169). Each tree is built from smaller trees that repeat the same pattern. When the four trees radiate from a central point, they form a snowflake shape, with a fractal look. There is a fun resemblance to the Sierpiński triangle but is not perfect since branches overlap. Still, the repeating triangular structure is still noticeable. This piece was drawn with a digital pen. The slight imperfections in spacing mirror the natural irregularities of real snowflakes coincidentally.