Minimal Surfaces
BatwingII-10-221026.jpg

Batwing II- the same form as the previous in natural wood.----Available

BatwingII-13-221026.jpg

Batwing II- This form can be duplicated and then joined in 3 dimensions to created a complex 3 dimensional form.---Available

BatwingII-15-221026.jpg

Batwing II-Spalted sugar maple, lacquer 5.5" x 5.5" x 5.5"----Available

Batwing-1-220912.jpg

Batwing-A triply periodic minimal surface described by the mathematician Schoen.---Available

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Batwing- a cube turned on 4 axes with 8 mountings then carved to final form----Available

Batwing-10-220912.jpg

Batwing-Cherry, India Ink and acrylics 4 x 4 x 4----Avaliable

EnneperII-5-220105.jpg

Enneper II- Turned on 6 axes-- AVAILABLE

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Enneper II- a stretched triply periodic minimal surface-- AVAILABLE

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Enneper II- Red Mallee burl, Bush oil, slate 4" x 5"-- AVAILABLE

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Costa- A minimal surface also known as Costa-Hoffman-Meeks, named for the mathematicians who described it.-- AVAILABLE

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Costa- Silver maple burl, Chestnut dyes, India ink, Gilders paste, Bush oil, 5.5"H x 11"D-- AVAILABLE

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Costa- Colors show that there are only 2 surfaces on this piece.-- AVAILABLE

EnneperII-16-190323.jpg

Enneper II- An Enneper minimal surface derived using Cartesian coordinates.----SOLD

EnneperII-28-190323.jpg

Enneper II- Maple, India Ink, Acrylics, Soapstone----SOLD

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Enneper II- 7" x 7" x 4"----SOLD

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Spatial Distortion-This is a triply periodic Chen-Gackstatter minimal surface----SOLD

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Spatial Distortion- Yellow Box Burl----SOLD

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Spatial Distortion- 5.75" x 5.75" x 5.75"----SOLD

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Twisted- A minimal surface derived from a turned torus----Available

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Twisted- This is also a mobius, with only one edge and one surface.----Available

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Twisted- Bleached Maple, Soapstone, Stainless Steel, Tung oil. 9"W x 4" d x 10" h----Available

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Space/Time Warp. Revisiting the Enneper/Planar form.----Available

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Space/Time Warp. 8"W x 10"L x 5"H, Manzanita Burl, Colored Epoxy, Veneer, Lacquer. Stand- Maple, Acrylics, Stainless steel.----Available

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Space/Time Warp. Detail----Available

Trilobate-3-170607.jpg

Trilobate- A minimal surface based on the Lawson form----Available

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Trilobate- Bleached Ash, Kryon. Maple base with Black Gesso----Available

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Trilobate- 8.5"x 8.5" x 8.5"----Available

Tesselcat-10-141214

Tesselcat- A tesselation pattern pierced into a turned catenoid form----SOLD

Tesselcat-2-141214

Tesselcat- Walnut, Lacquer. 10.5"H x 7.5"D----SOLD

Tesselcat-71-141214-1-141214

Tesselcat- Detail of the tesselation----SOLD

RibbonSphere-2-141004

Ribbon Sphere- Hints of a cube shaped ribbon contained in a sphere-----SOLD

RibbonSphere-8-141004

Ribbon Sphere- Ribbon- Massur birch and tung oil, Stand- Maple and Acrylics----SOLD

RibbonSphere-23-141004

Ribbon Sphere- 6" D on sphere, 13" total height----SOLD

BinaryBlackHole-12-140529-Edit-2

Binary Black Hole- A modified Lawson minimal surface----AVAILABLE

BinaryBlackHole-14-140529-Edit

Binary Black Hole- Form- Cherry, India Ink and Acrylics, Stand- Maple and acrylics----AVAILABLE

BinaryBlackHole-23-140529

Binary Black Hole- 13” x 9” x 2”----AVALIABLE

EuclidsPhenix-3-140119

Euclid's Phenix- A piece selected for the AAW’s “Rising” show.----SOLD

EuclidsPhenix-21-140120

Euclid's Phenix- A sphere with flares arranged in an icosahedron standing on a complex mobius strip.----SOLD

EuclidsPhenix-22-140120

Euclid's Phenix- Overall- 17.5” H x 7.5” D, sphere- 5.5” D----SOLD

Riptide-6-130130

Riptide- A collaboration with Ed Kelle. I turned the form, and he did the fantastic carving.----AVAILABLE

Riptide-8-130202

Riptide- Maple. 8” D x 7” H----AVAILABLE

ConicInversion-37-120923

Conic Inversion- A minimal surface that joins 2 opposite cones with a surrounding circular border----AVAILABLE

ConicInversion-38-120930

Conic Inversion- Form- Ash, 7”W x 5”H, Bleach, Acrylics, Krylon. Stand- Compwood, 12” Deep 11”H, Ink, Krylon----AVAILABLE

OakTrefoil-34-120708

Oak Trefoil- A collaboration with Andy DiPietro.----SOLD

OakTrefoil-36-120708

Oak Trefoil- Trefoil form; Chestnut Oak, Andy’s Oakobolo finish, 6” H x 7.5”D. Stand; Maple, dye, 7.125”H x 4”D.----SOLD

CrossingTunnels-17-120823

Crossing Tunnels- A minimal surface based on the Chen-Gackstatter form----SOLD

CrossingTunnels-16-120715

Crossing Tunnels- Spalted Tasmanian Rose Myrtle Burl, 5” x 5” x 6.5”, Bush Oil, Base is maple with leather dye.----SOLD

TrefoilWaves-7-120930

Trefoil Waves- Another collaboration with Andy DiPietro----SOLD

TrefoilWaves-6-120930

Trefoil Waves- Form- Figured Ash, dyed blue on black finish, 6” H x 7.5”D. Stand; Maple, dye, 7.125”H x 4”D, 13”H----SOLD

DistortionII-17-120715

Distortion II- A minimal surface of the intersection of an Enneper form with a flat plane.----SOLD

DistortionII-18-120715

Distortion II- Maple burl, lacquer, 9” x 12” x 4”, 11” high on stand. Maple Stand, Feibings dye, lacquer.----SOLD

Inversion-14-120413

Inversion- A minimal surface that joins a trefoil knot with a circle as the outer edge.----SOLD

Inversion-12-120413

Inversion- Figured big leaf maple, Bleach, stain, pyrography, 9" x 2.5”, stand is maple with dye and Krylon----SOLD

Trefoil-16-120625

Trefoil- This is the first “Trefoil” piece I did and the one I like the best. Based on the Enneper minimal surface form with 3 lobes (hence the title).----SOLD

Trefoil-15-120625

Trefoil- Masur Birch, lacquer, 7”D x 5”H. Stand is maple dyed with Feibings and lacquer.----SOLD

Trefoil-17-120625

Trefoil- Another view----SOLD

Enneper-21-120325

Enneper- A minimal surface based on the form that the mathematician Enneper described----SOLD

Enneper-15-120325

Enneper- Redwood burl, 3” x 4”, Bubinga stand.----SOLD

Distortion-24-120325

Distortion- The first of these pieces I did based on the intersection of an Enneper minimal surface with a plane.----SOLD

Distortion-25-120325

Distortion- Maple burl, 10" x 8" x 3.5”, Oil. Bubinga stand.----SOLD

4HungryChicks-5-110321

4 Hungry Chicks- Based on the Shoen hybrid triply periodic minimal surface.----AVAILABLE

4HungryChicks-6-110321

4 Hungry Chicks- Black Ash burl, 4.125" x 4.125" x 3.75”, tung oil/varnish mix----AVAILABLE

TaoGeometryII-18-130108

Tao of Geometry II- SOLD

TaoGeometryII-17-130108

Tao of Geometry II- Form- Elder Burl, Aniline dye, bleach, acrylics, Bush oil 8”D x 3”deep. Stand is maple comp wood, ebonized with india ink 14”W x 4”H. Slate base----SOLD

CostaHoffmanMeeks-11-101212

Costa Hoffman Meeks- A minimal surface named for the mathematicians that described it with math.----SOLD

CostaHoffmanMeeks-32-110108

Costa Hoffman Meeks- A very intriguing form. There are only 2 sides to the form shown by the different colors as a result of the tunnels that join the surfaces.----SOLD

CostaHoffmanMeeks-35-110108

Costa Hoffman Meeks- Bubinga, bleached on one side, lacquer. 9”D x 6”H. Branded and ebonized maple base.----SOLD

Geometree-3-101121

Geometree- A piece turned from wood sent by John Jordan for Vicki Jordan’s “Beloved Tree” project. The form is a catenoid, and is meant to evoke the base of a tree. Jordan maple, 5”D x 7.5”H, pyrography, lacquer, acrylic (tire) and string.----AVAILABLE

InfiniteLoop-7-110409

Infinite Loop- A trefoil knot minimal surface. The edges of the piece trace out a trefoil knot, and the wood joins those edges in a minimal surface.----AVAILABLE

InfiniteLoop-8-110409

Infinite Loop- Elder burl, colored epoxy, oil. 5.5”D x 2”----AVAILABLE

Lawson-17-111002

Lawson- A minimal surface described by the mathematician, Lawson, and inspired by vesicle-like microorganisms.----AVAILABLE

Lawson-32-111002

Lawson- Ebonized Butternut, 8.5” x 5”----AVAILABLE

TaoGeometry-11-120203

The Tao of Geometry- Based on Infinite loop trefoil, with the middle twist removed. I did this with the intention echoing the Yin Yang Taoist symbol.----SOLD

TaoGeometry-12-120203

The Tao of Geometry- Black ash burl, 12"H x 3"deep x 8" diameter. Stained on one side, bleached on the other, Lacquer----SOLD

SpaceWarp-2-110310

Space Warp- A minimal surface based on the intersection of a double Enneper minimal surface with a flat plane.----SOLD

SpaceWarp-4-110310

Space Warp- Corrugata Burl, Tung oil/varnish mix, 13” x 9.5 x 4”, acrylic stand.----SOLD

Vortex-7-110310

Vortex- A simple minimal surface, a catenoid.----SOLD

Vortex-4-110228

Vortex- Red Maple, acrylics, 9”x9”.----SOLD

AncientMath-7-110107

Ancient Math- Based on 3 interlinked rings known as Borromean Rings. A minimal surface joins the rings.----SOLD

AncientMath-8-110107

Ancient Math- Ancient Kauri. This wood is salvaged from bogs in New Zealand and is as old as 50,000 years. 5” x 5" x 5”, pyrography, lacquer---SOLD

AncientMath-10-110107

Ancient Math- Another view----SOLD

OpenWide-3-110310

Open Wide- A minimal surface that joins an outer circle with an inner ellipse at right angles to the circle.----AVAILABLE

OpenWide-4-110310

Open Wide- Maple from Vicki Jordan’s “Beloved Tree” project, lacquer, 5” x 3”.----AVAILABLE

SchwarzCat-3-110310

Schwarz’s Cat- A minimal surface that joins 6 circles centered on the faces of a cube with a catenoid base. Walnut, Tung oil/varnish mix, 6.25"h x 4.5"d-----SOLD

Parastichy-7-110115

Parastichy- A catenoid minimal surface (one of the simplest) pierced with 2 opposing spirals, 21 in one direction and 34 in the other. These are numbers that are part of the Fibonacci series.----AVAILABLE

Parastichy-8-110115

Parastichy- Box elder, acrylics, Fixatiff, 7” D x 8.5” H----AVAILABLE

Minimal Surfaces

I have recently been exploring the intersection of math and sculpture. One of the really cool things that I have discovered is the class of math objects called minimal surfaces.   These are surfaces that describe the least amount of surface area that will connect a circumscribed area.  

Soap bubbles will form a surface with the least amount of surface area with a given boundary.   Bubbles have no boundary, so form the least amount of surface area for a given volume, a sphere.   A loop of wire will result in a flat disc, bend the loop and the bubble will join the area in a smooth curve that minimizes the amount of film. More complicated structures can be made by creating bubbles from two or more loops of wire with a film joining the two (called a catenoid).

Mathematicians have been able to describe these forms using some complicated math that I don’t profess to understand. Luckily the results of their work can be plugged into
programs that will show the result as 3D objects that can be manipulated by changing the variables. The mathematicians have come up with some very complex, and fascinating, forms which probably would not have been otherwise discovered. This is my attempt to translate their work into turned art.