Weaving is a Way of Doing Math
Patricia Bentley

Proceedings of Bridges 2023: Mathematics, Art, Music, Architecture, Culture
Pages 361–364
Short Papers

Abstract

In this essay, I specify some of the ways that the planning and execution of woven cloth require a distinctive kind of mathematical thinking. Three aspects of my weaving practice are interrelated: first, making connections between ideas means finding inspiration and making colour and aesthetic choices. Second, reasoning involves the mathematical skills of working with numbers, patterns, and geometries. Third, modelling is the actual making stage. Doing mathematics in a weaving practice is inseparable from the physical activity of manipulating the threads. Weaving is a game of patterns: as much as it is my way of producing woven cloth, it is my way of doing math.

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