Closeness

In the “real” world you can cover a distance. You can visually tell how close together two points are to each other; even if the points are far away from you, your brain can process the visual information so you can tell the distance between points.

In the truly wonderful and beautiful world of math, these things are not as easily true. Xenos’ Paradox tells us that you can never transverse the distance between points. You can try to get from one point to another point by dividing the distance between the two points in half, and then divide the half closest to the other point in half and so on…to infinity. Essentially, you never reach the other point! There are an infinite number of points between any two points.

On the Cartesian coordinate system, which uses a flat plane, you can calculate the distance between two points and therefore judge the closeness between two points. However, Xeno’s Paradox applies here too.

In mathematical terms, if you try to evaluate the closeness of two points independent of the Cartesian coordinate system which exists only on a flat plane, it is difficult to do. Dividing the distance in half does not work. Imagine two sets of two points out in space where there is not even any type of surface such as a flat plane or the surface of a sphere. How can you tell which points are closest together?

What a great thing to think about!

Greatest Compliment Ever

While I was taking down my three-piece self-portrait, one of the other UVA teachers stopped by to talk to me. She wanted me in her Drawing 2 class in the spring and then to give serious consideration to trying printmaking, her area of specialty. Wow. This is an amazing compliment. I am thrilled! I am giving consideration to perhaps trying for a second BA degree at UVA (or maybe an MA).

Amir Aczel

Ever since reading Descartes' Secret Notebook, I have decided that Amir Aczel is one of my favorite authors. As history is one of my least favorite subjects, this surprises me. Aczel writes his history books as if there is a great mystery being solved by his research. This approach makes his books compelling, even to those who do not like history such as moi! Pick one of his books up and read it today. It will be hours of learning and fun! At the moment I am rapidly reading The Artist and The Mathematician. Awesome book.

Cramer's Rule

I have become fascinated by Cramer's Rule which makes solving systems of linear equations very easy! This has also made me more interested in linear algebra than I have been before. perhaps there are new ways of using matrices out there yet to be discovered. So, now I must decide which math is next.....

Final Display

Gravity, Esh and I all attended the final display for my drawing at UVA, Drawing 1. Gravity was so impressed that he said it did not look like the results of a beginning drawing class, and I agree. The drawings are really good! Here are some pics.

Art 21

The PBS series, Art 21, is great. It focuses on artists of the 21st Century. I have previously made two posts focused on two of the artists, Matthew Richie, and Cai Guo-qiang. The artists talk about their work along with videos of them creating the work and images of various gallery shows/installations of their work. Most of the artists are very articulate and learning what thoughts or feelings are behind their creations. A worthwhile watch.

Yet Another Change

So the final version of spring classes is the Friday drawing class at UVA, a watercolor class from a professional artist, and Calculus A from Stanford U. This should be a nice balance as the two art classes will probably have little out of class work.

Spring Classes

I am going to do 10 credits but chemistry instead of psychology. I am not sure which math yet; either logic or calculus. And, again, the same all day drawing class, but this time Drawing 2.

Spring School

Our community college has increased the number of virtual classes. They now offer psychology classes with labs. I am thinking about taking the second UVA drawing class and a Stanford online math class and a virtual psychology class. It would be a fun mix and 10 credits. I will be busy but I think I will do it.

Alone Time

I love alone time. It is time to revive, a time to grow. Peace, quiet, wonderfulness. Time for thinking. Time for dreaming, relaxing. Time for breathing deeply.

To compensate for my keratoconus, a BIG magnifying glass attached to my light. Absolutely great.

Gnomie preparing to draw at my drawing table!

Cool Site

Following is a cool site about the math behind the show Numb3rs. It has three great short videos generated by Mathematica; especially cool is the Eigenvector Linear Transformation. Enjoy!

http://numb3rs.wolfram.com/507/

Self-Portrait Torso

It was rainy outside so I took photos of the torso portion of my self-portrait on my drawing table. It resulted in glare from the lights so I will retake them when it is sunny.

Rotring vs. Koh-i-noor

About a month ago, I decided to try an additional brand of Rapidograph pen used in technical drawing. In college, I was introduced to Koh-i-noor pens and I used them for years. They produced beautiful lines, but they clog just looking at them. Changing points requires a small wheel which is difficult to even engage onto the pen point and difficult to turn. Along with many other artists, I assumed it was all just part of technical ink drawing.

This all changed when purchased my first .13 mm Rotring pen. Their website states that the pens do not clog. Right. I did not believe it. The claim, however, is true! I have now used their .13 mm for a month and it has not clogged. For any artist who has used Rapidographs, this is nothing short of a miracle! They are also becoming not available in the US! Every artist please stand up and say "We want Rortring!" You will not regret it. No more clogs! Fast point changing! YES!

Lining Up

One of the biggest challenges behind the three piece self-portrait is getting the three pieces to line up and look like they belong. As I have done more and more ink strokes, my stroke style has changed. So now I am having to alter the top of the first piece to match the bottom of the second piece. Interesting challenge.

Wiki Trig

Wikipedia has the most amazing article on trigonometric identities! Wonderful.

Meditation

I know my last post was on what art is, but I must add an addendum. Today, after hours of doing tiny lines, I realized that doing them is meditative. I end up in a sort of trance after awhile, and feel totally brain dead. Then this passes and I feel relaxed and ready to go at it again. Tiny, tiny lines -- thousands of them. Each piece of the portrait is life-size (30" by 22"). In other words, each piece is BIG. Thousands and thousands of little tiny lines.......

What Art Is

I have come across people who think that art is produced through spontaneous creativity. Wrong. Great art is produced through effort -- lots of it. Planning via drawings, preliminary paintings, and much time and effort. Many of the great paintings have taken months, years for the artists to produce. To be an artist requires enormous dedication, physical effort and lots of mental energy.