Mathematicians and Artists Team Up to Recreate the Coral Reef
By Sharon Lakey
Nancy Lewis dreams of a coral reef—right here in the Northeast Kingdom. In the dead of winter, when our color scheme consists of variations on gray, this sounds intriguing but farfetched. Not so. All it takes is a crochet hook, yarn dyed in the bright colors of the sea and a little math instruction. “Math?” you ask. Hyperbolic geometry, to be precise, but don’t run to the exits just yet.
On a camping trip in 1997, Daina Taimina, a Latvian mathematician who was working at Cornell, discovered she could crochet a hyperbolic plane, something that had never been seen or felt in 3-D. This simple act shook the math world as it gave tactile expression to a geometry that challenges Euclidian concepts. In fact, hyperbolic geometry challenges former views of our universe. Under Euclidian concepts, our universe in flat and infinite; under hyperbolic concepts, it is round and finite. (See note at bottom of article.)
It turns out that hyperbolic planes, the basic structure of the coral reef, have been crocheted for centuries. To an untrained math mind, though, they are seen as ruffles. Nancy, who grew up in Lewiston, Maine, was instructed in crochet by her grandmother, who was avid about it. In Danville, she points to a lovely potholder hanging on her refrigerator, a circular piece with plump red strawberries nestled in the center. “I made this from one of my grandmother’s patterns,” she said, thumbing through some paper patterns she has inherited.
The patterns didn’t hold her interest for long, though. “I was curious about shapes,” she said. “I became fascinated in filling space with structure.” This curiosity made its way into fanciful creations that became strange crocheted shapes on top of hats, reminiscent of an undersea adventure. She was unknowingly creating hyperbolic planes.
When Nancy moved into our area, she put a few of these hats on consignment at Uniquity in St. Johnsbury. The Wool Away shop is located at the back of the store and when owner Mariam Briggs saw them, she immediately connected them with a new fiber arts movement that was storming the country. She encouraged Nancy to submit some of her creations to the project, which she did through photos.
The project originated with ecology minded twin sisters in Los Angeles, Christine and Margaret Wertheim. They founded and are co-directors of The Institute For Figuring, which educates the public about figuring techniques using the underlying principals of physics. The plight of coral reefs was of particular concern for them and when they connected with Daina Taimina and her hyperbolic crochet models, they went into action.
Inviting crochet artists to submit from all over the world, they created the Hyperbolic Crochet Reef in figures. This exhibition has toured museums and raised the consciousness of the reef in cities from west to east, including Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. Nancy’s pieces are included. “I don’t know where they are now, but I keep getting these postcards and brochures in the mail letting me know of new openings.” Her name is listed prominently among the contributors with a simple “Nancy Lewis (VT).”
That’s all fine and good, to have her pieces out there traveling in style, but her dream is to bring this into the Northeast Kingdom. Enter Newcomb Greenleaf of St. Johnsbury, a math professor at Goddard College. “I retired once,” says Newcomb (from places like Columbia and Harvard), “but I’m back to it.” Besides teaching math, Newcomb also teaches Buddhist meditation, and that is how Nancy showed up in his life as a student. Chatting together one day, he found out about her hyperbolic crocheting and before long they had designed a workshop course at Goddard.
Under his direction, Nancy created hyperbolic planes like Daina Taimina’s so he could explain to students the underlying math principles, then the group moves on to crocheting under Nancy’s direction. Nancy is pleased to say, “Everyone but Newcomb has been successful at it. It’s very freeing, because there is no set pattern.”
Newcomb sighs, “My fingers won’t work like that; I think I’m too old.” But it is easy to see that he enjoys this teaming experience. “The work is so tactile,” he says, lifting a wormy looking figure that is lying on the Nancy’s kitchen counter. And indeed, it is so enchanting I had to scrunch it, too, and wondered aloud how difficult it was to create.
“Not hard at all,” says Nancy, smiling. These are simple crochet models, and anyone can do them. She’s going to get her chance to prove it. Catamount Arts is offering a four-hour local workshop on March 28 to all comers who would like to learn the basics. The cost is $35. “People should come with a hat body,” says Nancy, showing an example of a simple ribbed tube. If you haven’t done your homework, you can purchase one from me for $5 at the workshop.”
Maybe a few people will get hooked. That is what she is hoping. “I would like for a group of us to work together to form our own collaborative coral reef. Right here. Do you think we could do it?”
Notes--A simple and excellent description of hyperbolic geometry can be accessed at this address http://theiff.org/oexhibits/oe1f.html
Nancy’s website address is www.medusahats.com
For more pictures and this article click here
The article was published in The North Star Monthly, March 2009
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