Math Art Reflection

 

Our group recreated Melissa Schumacher's "Counting with Knots" by extending the original artwork with the counting from 0 to 15 using base 4. Because we changed from base 3 to base 4, we needed to create a new symbol to represent it. We each created a unique symbol representing the number 3 in this case. Allyssa made 3 correspond to an X symbol, meaning that the crossing has no restriction, but the line does not pass in this area. Asiya made 3 represent a crossing that has either 2 strands or 4 strands. I made 3 to correspond to both horizontal and vertical barriers. Of the three, my idea caused the final artwork to represent something other than a Celtic Knot as the horizontal and vertical barrier cut into my knot. Whoops

While working on this project was hard since each of us made our variation, we also knew the pain and frustrations the students would have when creating the artwork. The easiest part of the presentation was creating the PowerPoint and the actual presentation. Since most of the topics we were going to discuss were somewhat familiar to us or easily accessible online. The artwork, on the other hand, was very tedious. Initially, it took a lot of work to figure out how to start this art project. As we worked on it, I came across a grid with dots that I modified and used Photoshop to create the 3 grids to represent each part of the artwork. Even with the grid, I had to make multiple photocopies of one as I feared my inexperience in art would ruin my one good copy, resulting in a total restart. Out of the three parts, creating the knots with the over-under pattern was tedious. The other 2 parts were quite therapeutic as I worked in a set rhythm. However, since there is a precise over-under pattern with the knot, I had to constantly pay attention to what I was doing, which took a lot of energy. In the end, the Celtic knots were a lot of fun, and it took me about 5 hours once I had the grid to finish it. With an added 3 hours of thinking about how I would start this project, the artwork took about 8 hours from start to finish.

As a teacher, we must try to attempt the assignment ourselves to know what was difficult and how long it took us to finish. Given how different this math art is to many math classes, students would need help completing part 3 of the artwork as it was the most time-consuming and energy-intensive. Knowing the difficulties of that part, I have learned to modify the art project a bit so that students would create a smaller knot that is less vertical and slightly more horizontal, like a 5 by 7. Here, students will explore 7 consecutive numbers, but the numbers are larger in base 3 or 4. As we create Celtic Knots, this artwork will tie nicely with a Social Studies class if they ever cover the Vikings. This project would be a tremendous cross-disciplinary assignment with Math 9 and Socials 9 as we look at various aspects of the knot. For math, we would look at the underlying pattern used to create the knots, while in Socials, they would look at the underlying history of the knots to Celtic cultures. Overall, this was an enjoyable project, and I will keep this art project in mind as I head into my practicum and future teaching career.