Art and Design
A lot of my research is about applications of computer science and mathematics to the world of art and design. Sometimes I apply that interest directly in my own projects. The objects I create tend to use a fair amount of mathematics and programming. But in the work on this page I began with the goal in mind and developed the tools I need to achieve it, instead of doing the research first and then seeing what results I could create from it.
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Genuary 2024
I’m currently working on a new online edition of an undergraduate course I first developed in 2014. The course is the second in a sequence of two introductory programming courses for non-majors. Our emphasis is on programming as a creative medium for art and design, so it’s only natural that we initially used Processing as…
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Generative Zellij
Procedurally generated Zellij compositions. Click on the drawing and press the space bar to generate a new composition. Press the ‘s’ key to download an SVG file. Yes, I am somewhat ashamed to admit that a couple of years ago, I experimented with NFTs. Look: I was younger then, and I didn’t always make the…
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Genuary 2023
I haven’t written anything on this site for a long time. That seems particularly unconscionable after a such a consequential year. And while the medium of blogging continues to decline in popularity, it still seems to hold some value for me as a means of disseminating ideas (just this morning I approved an enthusiastic comment…
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Marshmallow Candle Snuffer
In addition to custom socks, which I wrote about previously, I also created a new 3D printed object as a holiday gift, the first 3D printing I’ve done in a while. In the late autumn, we reach the time of year when it’s dark outside as we sit down to dinner. During those months, we…
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Holiday socks!
Let’s face it, socks have an undeserved bad reputation as holiday presents. In my family, we all enjoy giving and receiving socks around Christmas. Our collective attitude is well expressed by this old tweet (if you like, you can replace Calendar Age with Level of Sock Enlightenment): For a few years now I’ve been a…
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Swirled Series: The Result
Early in November, Daniel Piker (aka @KangarooPhysics) suggested that a group of people could get together online, and each create a short segment of animation, arranged so that all the start and end frames are identical. We could then assemble all the segments into one long loop and enjoy each others’ work. The idea was…
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Andromeda Reimagined
I first learned of Burning Man from The Happy Mutant Handbook, a book of mayhem and counterculture that called out to me one day from a bookstore shelf. I’ve never participated in the festival, and probably never will, but I know many people who have and I suppose it has accumulated a quasi-mythological status in…
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Hexagonal Cross Stitch
At least year’s Bridges Conference in Stockholm, I attended a short presentation by Susan Goldstine about “self-diagramming lace”. As motivation for the new work she was presenting, Susan referenced her paper from the year before on what she calls “symmetry samplers”. Samplers are an old tradition in fibre arts. A symmetry sampler combines small swatches…
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Tilted Espresso Cup
Here’s the second of two new espresso cups (read about the other one). The concept is simple: slice through the bottom of the cup and the handle at an angle, so that the cup looks like it’s sinking into the table. I think I can say with some confidence that one of the direct inspirations…
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Moka Pot Espresso Cup
During the holidays at the end of 2017, I had a bit of time to return to my occasional hobby of 3D printing. I figured I would design a couple of new espresso cups. I always seem to come back to 3D printed porcelain cups. I suppose it’s a nice design space: the final form…
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Interwoven Islamic geometric patterns
Anybody who has attended a Bridges conference in past ten years will be familiar with the work of Rinus Roelofs. His talks always offer an entertaining contrast: stunning and inspiring ideas in the intersection of geometry and art, balanced with his humble, low-key delivery. It was also Rinus who suggested that I try Rhino3D for…
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Arctic Monkeys Simulator
This term, I’m once again teaching CS 106, a second-level introductory programming course with a focus on art and data visualization. The course is taught using Processing, which provides a fun and accessible (though flawed) environment for art-focused novice programmers. The most recent lecture includes a discussion on drawing graphs, and I thought it would be…
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Woven book polyhedra
Earlier this year, at a local coffee shop, I noticed a flyer on the wall with a call for artist submissions for an upcoming show in Halton Hills. The topic of the show was Altered Books. I had never experimented with the artform of altered books before, though I had seen great examples online. I…
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Hypocycloid juggling patterns
I’ve been having fun experimenting with interesting visual patterns that emerge when multiple points are moved around hypocycloids. I ended up writing a Bridges conference paper on the topic, but the animated quality of the results is so crucial that it seemed absolutely necessary to create a web page to showcase the results. I had…
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Tending toward the convex
I was commissioned to create an Islamic geometric design to serve as a prop on the set of an Austrian production of the play Disgraced.
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Trefoil Mug
A 3D printed coffee cup with a knotted handle.
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3D printed kippahs
It’s a well known fact that all mathematical art must eventually be worn on one’s head. Let’s cut out the middleman and create mathematical hats.
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Moon Shot Espresso Cup
I designed an espresso cup mapped with a bas-relief lunar surface. When I discovered that it couldn’t be 3D printed directly in ceramic, I designed to cast it by hand.
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Laser-cut Islamic marquetry
While in London in 2014, I had access to a laser cutter. I created a few small pieces of wooden marquetry based on Islamic geometric patterns.
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The Little Dipper
Inspired by the archetypal British Chocolate Biscuit, I designed a cup specifically for dipping.
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Minus Comics
An in-depth exploration of the minusing of a number of comics, inspired by Garfield Minus Garfield.