Artisan Originals

Original Works • One of a Kind

Chaos & Harmony

Mathematical Patterns Carved in Wood | 2022-2024

I discovered something unexpected three years ago: when you translate a mathematical equation into wood, it becomes alive in ways a screen never captures. Each piece here represents months of exploration—finding the exact moment where chaos reveals its hidden order.

Why These Pieces Exist

The Chaos & Harmony series began with a simple question: what would a fractal feel like if you could touch it? I'd been generating parametric patterns on my computer for years, mesmerized by their infinite complexity, but they always felt trapped behind glass. So I started carving them.

Working with my CNC router (think of it as a robot sculptor), I translate mathematical equations into physical form. A logarithmic spiral becomes a walnut relief. A hyperbolic pattern emerges from cherry wood. Fractals nest within maple grain. The math is precise—calculated to thousandths of an inch—but the wood brings its own story through grain, color, and texture.

The Dance Between Digital and Physical

Each piece takes weeks to create. It starts with mathematical play—I'll spend days tweaking an algorithm until it generates something that makes me stop and stare. Then comes the translation: converting pure math into toolpaths that my CNC can understand. The carving itself can run for 20+ hours straight, the machine following paths so complex they'd take a human lifetime to complete by hand.

But that's just the beginning. Once carved, I hand-finish every piece—sanding, staining, sometimes adding gold leaf to highlight certain mathematical relationships. This is where the work transforms from technical achievement into art. The finishing process is meditation, each pass revealing how light plays across the carved mathematics.

Where These Works Have Been

I'm humbled that pieces from this series have been selected for the Bridges Mathematical Art Gallery and exhibited at the Joint Mathematics Meetings. Having mathematicians and artists validate this intersection of disciplines confirmed I wasn't crazy for spending months perfecting a single spiral. These aren't just decorative patterns—they're mathematical proofs you can hang on your wall.

What You're Really Collecting

When you acquire one of these pieces, you own the only physical version of that mathematical moment. I don't make copies or reproductions. Once the algorithm generates a pattern and it's carved into wood, that particular equation-to-object translation will never exist again. Even if I ran the same algorithm, the wood grain would be different, the light would fall differently, the piece would be fundamentally changed.

Collectors tell me these works shift throughout the day—morning light emphasizes different curves than evening shadows. They become contemplative focal points, revealing new relationships the longer you look. One collector described their piece as "visual jazz"—structured improvisation that never gets old.

Currently Available: 1 original works from the 2024 series
Previous works are in private collections from Seattle to Stockholm

Each piece is absolutely unique. When it's gone, that particular mathematical exploration ends.

See the Full Details

I photograph each piece extensively to show how light moves across the carved surfaces, but honestly, photos never quite capture the dimensionality. If you're drawn to a particular piece, I'm happy to share videos, detail shots, or discuss the mathematics behind it.

For serious inquiries about available works or commissioning a piece exploring specific mathematical concepts: Contact me directly