Create a time-line / checklist: This week copying and laminating - Next week: buy or beg materials - Two weeks: covering display boxes with matching paper - Three weeks: collect books matching the display....
Be careful with your fingers (blow - blow) the glue is very hot and you easily get blisters
Each object needs its own space. Think of a shop window that is more than full with appliances, you can’t distinguish one object from the other, while carefully placed objects attract the attention.
Mathematics: Juggling the Numbers
Posted on April 18th, 2010 by Anita
We may not realise it but everything in life is full of mathematics. Shapes, forms and sounds. Nature, time and space. Music, art and games. According to Wikipedia: Mathematics is the study of quantity, structure, space, and change.
To create a display that covers all this is way too much so I numbered (nice pun) it down to a straight construction with clear lines. (see: Display tips)
A couple of playful math books were helpful to get me started and while shelving an 
artbook about Escher’s mathematical drawings, I got the idea for a reoccuring background. Than I saw on the cover of a design magazine the bright yellow/black artwork of the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama who’s work also contains reoccurring patterns and has an overwhelming amount of quantity and structure. Creativity and mathematics doesn’t seem to go together but here you see it does!
artbook about Escher’s mathematical drawings, I got the idea for a reoccuring background. Than I saw on the cover of a design magazine the bright yellow/black artwork of the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama who’s work also contains reoccurring patterns and has an overwhelming amount of quantity and structure. Creativity and mathematics doesn’t seem to go together but here you see it does!
The black and yellow colours for the background and black and white for title and images enhance the feeling of logic, rythme and patterns while the bright numbers add a playful touch.
What you need:
- Ask Maintenance Department for a plywood headboard and 4 thin plywood shelves, or if you’re not so lucky to have a Maintenance department, make them yourself. (or ask your partner, uncle, neighbour). A jigzaw can do a good job and is easy to handle.
- 4 packages of bright coloured plastic numbers (two dollar shop)
- Collection of rulers, set square etc. (lost property department)
Large calculator (two dollar shop)- Compass (two dollar shop)
- Thermometer (two dollar shop)
- Black/yellow images ‘Dragon by Escher (used as background and printed on A3)
- Black/yellow ‘Dots Obsession Day’ Images by Yayoi Kusama’s (used as background and printed on A3)
- Escher’s image ‘Bird/Fish in black and white, enlarged and laminated
- Escher’s image ‘waterfall’ enlarged and laminated
2 x Puzzle images from Menza book, enlarged and laminated (or use a Sudoku)- Black letters for title (size 450) on white background and laminated
- Search Google – images for silhouette of juggling boy and girl, alternate if necessary and enlarge to required size
- Black card to make boy and girl
- Black card to cover parts of headboard (optional) and to cover shelves
- Black card to create half round banner
- Yellow card used as background for boy and girl
- 4 Half round shelves of very thin plywood (or use cornflute)
- Glue gun, blu tack, ruler, stapler, etc. to attach materials
What to do:
- Cover the middle panel and the headboard in Escher’s yellow and black ‘Dragon’ A3 paper
- Cover the left and right panel with ‘Dots Obsession Day’ printed on A3
- Cover the shelves with black card and glue them in place with glue gun. Attach shelves halfway to the left and right panel. To hold them up I used set squares and glued them in place with a glue gun.
- Staple the black half round banner to the middle panel. Use the glue gun to attach the numbers
Glue the calculator, thermometer and rulers etc. to the board. I use black card as a background for the rulers otherwise they could hardly be seen.- If necessary cover up the iron beams left and right of the middle board. Use black card. Attach the boy and girl with blu tack. Make sure their hands are in line with the black banner.
- Glue ‘falling’ numbers under the banner to the middle board.
Glue numbers on the top of the shelves- Staple Menza puzzles to left and right top panel (make sure it is in the middle)
- Staple Escher’s ‘Fish/Bird’ and ‘Waterfall’ to left and right bottom panel (in line with top images)
- Use black card and a glue gun to cover the poles of the head board (optional)
- Staple title in a ‘juggling’ way to the headboard.
Filed under: Education
And.....Keep an open mind for unusual, funny or cartoon-like images in magazines, books and daily papers like the image above that was featured on the front page of Canvas magazine, Cut them out or copy them and store them for when you need inspiration. One unusual image can be the base for an imaginative display. You don't need to do all the hard work yourself.
You can hang little objects like birds, light bulbs, little books, art objects etc from the frame. Voile fabric draped over the frame will give it an extra elegance.... let your imagination run wild and try it out!