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During the week of November 13^th, Whitworth’s Eric Johnson Science Building hosted the “Beauty in the Chaos” art gallery. The hallway walls were decorated with art from Whitworth and On-Track Academy students who worked together to use a variety of mathematical concepts to create eye-(and ear)-catching art pieces.

The exhibit was headed by the Honors Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos (MA-306H) course, taught by Dr. Diana Schepens, which worked with students from On Track Academy. Students from Dr. Lindy Moyer’s Basic Concepts in Modern Math (MA-107) class contributed art as well. Pieces ranged from paintings to stained glass, and one student team even composed a music piece inspired by the Fibonacci sequence. 

One student team, Talia Miyama (Whitworth) and Aliauna Humphries (On Track Academy), created a design inspired by fractals. Together, Miyama and Humphries created a mathematical model of a triangular fractal which was used to plan a stained-glass art piece. 

Humphries, a stained-glass artist herself, appreciated the precision of the mathematical design process.

“[The fractal piece was] something that was simple but satisfying to make, I don’t know what it is but cutting the straight lines… you line it up and there’s these pliers that you’ve lined up with the score line in the middle of it and you break it and it’s so satisfying,” said Humphries.

In addition to enjoying her partnership with Humphries, Miyama enjoyed the unexpected intersection of two of her passions: Math and Art.

“Throughout college, I have been trying to find things that combine the two. My brain naturally is inclined to enjoy math… This class especially I think, has broadened my understanding of the intersection, which has helped me like as I look forward in trying to figure out what I want to do with math.”

Another On Track student, Kawika Winchester, partnered with Whitworth student to make a laser-engraved wooden coffee image.

Winchester grew up creating art but gained new insight through work with his partner as they worked to understand chaos theory. His team took an image of a piece of coffee art and studied the curves using equations. 

“I saw the flows of the coffee and it dawned on me that that’s art. Art can be anything… you could paint charts, you could paint houses. So, now after doing this project, I strongly see art and math together,” said Winchester.

Ryan Trader, another Whitworth student from the MA-306H class talked about his experience working with students in the classroom. 

“Being in that room and seeing all those students get inspired by the various things that we had brought them really opened my mind to the possibilities that, you know, all these mathematical concepts do also have some kind of home in the art world too,” said Trader. 

Of course, the art and teaching experience Whitworth’s students was only in addition to learning the concepts of chaos and nonlinear dynamics as well, which is no easy task. Humphries and Winchester will be donating their art pieces to Whitworth University, where they can be viewed and admired by students and visitors.