Math Teacher

by Lin Hsin-Chen

When I was young, my grandmother used to teach me to count Hydrangea flowers, not only the numbers of balls, but also the inflorescence. Every little flower has its own posture. Since then, I learned to observe layers. It made a huge impact on me. Hydrangea flower is my math teacher.

I feel intimate with flowers. It is probably because I am grateful to them and we are in a mentorship relationship. Life is like a ball. The circular curve, from the core to the exterior, is controlling the way we think. Thinking changes and transforms through interaction with others. Just like mathematics, although ever-changing, the answer could be found eventually.

Talking with nature allows us to clear up complicated and dirty concepts and renew our perceptions. I did a math exercise when creating this quilt: “add” observation to convert the texture of flowers into visual index; “subtract” extra details to emphasize the inflorescence; “multiply” the sincerity and courage to take the challenge; “divide” the needle pitch that I was preoccupied. Thank you, Kate, for the challenge.

Materials: commercial cottons, dyed fabrics, gauze, beads, Romanian thread, wool yarn

Techniques: hand stitched, hand pieced, hand appliquéd, hand quilted

Size: 100 x 100 (cm)