One researcher takes this finding into account when developing retinal implants that restore vision
— Read on www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/fractal-patterns-nature-and-art-are-aesthetically-pleasing-and-stress-reducing-180962738/
I’ve never been to Utah, unless you count a layover at the airport on the way to California. It was snowing in Salt Lake City at the time.
However, I have seen some photos of the landscape there. Somehow, when I created this image, I was reminded of those beautiful rock formations on a clear hot sunny day. I imagined hiking through this fantasy landscape, and the name for this image came to me and stuck.
‘Utaopiah’ will be available for viewing (along with many other pieces) in person on May 4 & 5, from 10 to 5 p.m. during the Oxford Studio Tour, at my home gallery, which is Location #4 on the tour. It is the only one of my metal prints that actually has a frame (the frame is black) – something new I tried out this time!
Utaopiah. Digital fractal art. Single metal print. 12×16″. Artist Lianne Todd
Every once in a while I discover and develop an image that is just uncannily familiar. From the similarity of “Pollinator” to an actual pollinator, to the “Ocean Floor” that isn’t actually an ocean floor, we see how nature follows the patterns dictated by the geometry we know as fractals. However, it is not strictly ‘natural’ things which follow fractal patterns. We can see fractal patterns in things like architecture, art, music, and… fancy china dishes!
I absolutely love this image which I’ve entitled ‘Time for Tea”. To me it seems vaguely reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland and the interior of my Mom’s china cabinet. I recently printed it on metal. Here is what the digital image I created looks like. In the metal print, the white parts are silver, so it does change the look of it a little. It would be perfect in a super modern dining room, I think.
To see the 24×32″ metal print, you’ll have to come out to my gallery, as it is just very difficult to photograph the reflective surface. Lucky for you, the perfect opportunity to do that is right around the corner, during the Oxford Studio Tour, May 4 & 5, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.!
Time for Tea. Digital Fractal Art. Single metal print is 24×32″. Artist Lianne Todd.
While I haven’t posted here in a while (been busy on my other blog though), I have indeed been making fractals! This is one of a couple of new ones I have recently had printed on metal.
Spring is coming (yay!) and so is the Oxford Studio Tour, a perfect opportunity for you to visit the gallery and check out new work. If you’d like to visit before then, just let me know.
I won’t say too much about this piece, as the title sort of speaks for itself!
Break Out of the Mold. Fractal Digital Art. Single edition print on metal. 18×24″. Artist Lianne Todd. $400.00
There exists a very old phrase, ‘as above, so below’. Its meaning is interpreted in various ways, depending on where you look. Its source is generally attributed to Hermes, though according to some, it is probably even older than that.
According to Wikipedia, the full quote translated from Hermes ‘ The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus, as translated by Dennis W. Hauck, is “That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracle of the One Thing.”
Isaac Newton translated the Emerald Tablet’s passage as follows: ‘That which is below is like that which is above & that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing’ (according to Quora).
I don’t know exactly where I first heard the phrase, but it certainly popped into my head a lot as I began to explore fractal geometry. The more I learn about fractals and about the cosmos, the more I see similarities between large scales, like the universe, and small scales, like an atom. Perhaps an easier example to envision is the similarity between say, a river drainage pattern and the venation in a leaf. After all, fractals are often self-similar on smaller and smaller scales. It is one of the ways in which fractal geometry was discovered by Benoit Mandelbrot. My cursory understanding of such things, as an artist whose education was mainly in biology, does not diminish my enthusiasm for humanity’s search to find a Theory of Everything. Whenever I see a Physics article in my various news feeds, I am struck by either their use of illustrative images which I recognize from experience as being generated fractals, or how much the actual images generated by their physics experiments resemble generated fractals. Maybe someday the ideas will all fit together. Until then, I will continue to happily make my art and notice how in reality, sometimes it is tricky to know what the scale of an image is.
This piece will be on display in my gallery this weekend during ‘Welcome Back to Otterville’, our town’s 21st annual studio tour. Please visit www.WelcomeBackToOtterville.ca for details of the tour, including maps and times.
A Matter of Scale. Digital Fractal Art, printed on metal. 20×20″. Single edition print. Artist Lianne Todd. $345.00
It has been a while since I’ve blogged about any new pieces here… I was focusing on my traditional watercolours for the winter, although I did have a piece or two I hadn’t introduced.
For instance, there is this one which I called ‘Swiftly Tilting’. I had just read the whole Madeleine L’Engle series for the first time, so this image conjured up that title – you can imagine why! This is another one of my hand-painted pieces of fractal art – a watercolour on Aquabord. (Image here is watermarked). It is in a handmade black shadow-box frame (not shown).
Swiftly Tilting. Watercolour on Aquabord. 6×6″. Lianne Todd. $175.00
I’ve created THREE new pieces that will be ready for visitors to see on the Oxford Studio Tour! It’s May 6 & 7 this year, and it is our 10th year for the tour! I am Stop #3 this time. I will be keeping the new pieces, (2 metal prints, 1 acrylic print) under wraps until the tour, because sometimes it is just better if people have the chance to see the art in person first.
Earlier this year, I was the one updating our website with all of this year’s locations, artist blurbs, sample art images, and maps. It’s going to be a great tour, and there are even more reasons to come to Oxford County what with part of Big Cheese Days happening the Saturday of that weekend too! Gunns Hill is right on the way down to Otterville from the 401 and their cheese is delicious!
It has been a very busy year of creating and exhibiting so far, and I hope that continues. I look forward to the tour, and to a more active year of blogging about my art too!
Associating fractals with architectural design is not a new thing – I don’t make any claims there. In fact, fractal geometry was used as a basis for the design of places to live long before we had a name for it – especially in Africa. There’s a TED blog about this very thing – just search for fractal architecture and you’ll find it.
I, however, like to make fractals using no intent, then capture images according to what my imagination lets me see. The fantastic universes I am able to explore have their own landscapes and their own architecture, and the “creatures” that some of the flame fractals reveal are alien yet familiar. I like placing them in the alien worlds and imagining what might be unfolding.
For the Square Foot Show at the Westland Gallery in London, Ontario, I created two pieces of fractal art, each a 12×12″ metal print, with a hint at alien architecture in common. Keep in mind these photographs are of the metal prints themselves. As usual, they are tough to portray in photography because of the reflective surface, and you really need to see them in person – preferably in good light. For one reason or another these both ended up on the bottom row of the wall at the gallery – not ideal when they look their best with light bouncing into your eyes! However, there is literally more wonderful art per square foot in that gallery right now than there is for many galleries all year. This is a great show, and the opening night was packed with people. You could barely move around. It also happened to be pretty hot and humid that day – so many of us ended up just outside the door fanning ourselves. The ice cold drinks were going fast!
The show is on until August 12. Go check it out if you can.
Occupant. Digital Fractal Art printed on metal, single edition print. $195. Artist Lianne Todd
Beacon. Digital Fractal Art printed on metal, single edition print. $195. Artist Lianne Todd
I think I have mentioned before how I see many fractals as somewhat archetypal in nature. We have, in our decorative past, incorporated many motifs that turn out to be quite common in fractal geometry. The swirls and whorls, the spirals and branches, the radiating patterns… it is like we knew about fractals before we knew about fractals. But of course we did, didn’t we? Because fractals are the shapes of nature, and we are a part of nature ourselves, and surrounded by it. We noticed the regular and irregular natural patterns around us and we appreciated them. We began to find them beautiful. Then we began to associate them with ideas, and some of them became symbolic.
This particular fractal is one of those ones that seems to be archetypal. Of course the cross shape, as a symbol, is much more ancient than the Christian religion. This is more complicated than a simple cross, though. What other associations does your mind bring to this image?
Symbol. Digital fractal art on metal. Single edition print. 16×16″. Artist Lianne Todd. Private Collection.
I hope you’ll come out to my studio this coming weekend during the Oxford Studio Tour to see this piece and more.
The artists’ group I am a member of, the Artists of Oxford, is having a group show at the Ingersoll Creative Arts Centre and the opening for the show is this Sunday, 2-4 pm. I’ve got two pieces in the show, and they are both digital fractals printed on acrylic. One is called Diaphanous, the other is called Indeterminate.
I hope you’ll be able to join us for the opening or make it to the show while it is on!
I still have my design page on VIDA, where you can purchase the 100% natural Charmeuse silk square scarves with my fractal designs on them. These are larger (34.5×34.5″) than any of my wall pieces with the added value of being wearable! VIDA emailed me the other day letting me know traffic to my page has been strong, and in the email they sent a few coupon codes for me to pass along.
Here they are!
5 USD Gift Card off Orders 50 USD+ (use code PMCG3191V3IX)
15 USD Gift Card off Orders 100 USD+ (use code 83PNNJ8ZCUCE)
40 USD Gift Card off Orders 200 USD+ (use code NHJTDLZ2XS7P)
This offer expires on Sunday January 24th at midnight PST.
FractaLiArt 