Exploring AUTUMN

the Nature The season of harvest and preparation — engaging with nature
as the source of an artist’s materials and exploring the science of
recycling and transforming nature’s raw materials into works of art.

of Harmony:
Teaching Resources for an Integrated Approach to the National Curriculum

Dyes: Staining Paper

Red Cabbage and Tumeric Before starting the activity all children should be wearing aprons to protect their clothes as
the dyes will stain them. Cut pieces of paper into strips or the shapes of leaves and dip them
The juice from a red cabbage has similar qualities to litmus, this activity enables students to either into the cabbage water or the turmeric so that it stains the whole of the paper.
make their own version of litmus paper, test different liquids for acidity and alkaline, and with
the results produce their own collages. Place the stained paper onto either some newspaper or kitchen roll to prevent it staining any
surfaces. When dry, your cabbage litmus paper will be ready to use for testing the acidity
and alkalinity of liquids.
Making of cabbage dye
Chop a head of red cabbage into small pieces and add it to a pan with about two cups of
water. Boil the cabbage uncovered for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the
cabbage from burning. Let it cool for a few hours, preferably overnight to allow for a deeper
colour, then strain the cabbage water into a jar or bowl.

Cutting the red cabbage into thin slices. Place into a pan and bring to the boil, then let it
simmer for at least 20 minutes.
Turmeric dye
Turmeric is a yellow/brown powder made from the dried root of the herb Curcuma Longa,
native to India. It has a slight earthy flavour and little aroma and is known for its colour. The
yellow colour of turmeric is caused by the molecule curcumin, which makes up around 5
percent of the dry powder.

Making a turmeric dye

Turmeric powder is sold widely already ground into a power. Sprinkle some into a glass bowl.
Add hot water and stir for a couple of minutes. Tumeric will not dissolve sufficiently in cold
water to make a dye; however it will dissolve in hot water.

The root of the Curcuma Longa herb. Stir the turmeric powder with hot water for a few
minutes or until it dissolves.

all dye baths are prepared by

simmering for about one hour
Make a pH Indicator:
Cabbage and Turmeric Dye
Cabbage water and turmeric not only produce vibrant coloured dyes, they also carry the
quality as an indicater for either acidity or alkaline. Similar to litmus paper, both dyes will
changed colour when another liquid on the ph scale is applied to it. The stronger the acidity
or alkaline of the liquid the more dramatic the colour change. Not only is this an interesting
introduction to the science involved, but also offers the opportunity to create bright and
bold art works.

chopped beetroot Process

In large plastic cups or small bowls pour various liquids that you know to be either acidic or
alkaline, this can include soapy water, lemon juice, orange juice, baking soda diluted in
water, baking powder diluted in water, clear vinegar. Get the students to dip the paper into
these liquids as well as anything else they would like to test. The molecules in the cabbage
water litmus paper change when exposed to either an acid an alkaline, making the paper
change colour, turning red/pink in acids and blue/green in alkalines.
pomegranate skins

onion skins

In the example above, the cabbage water paper is dipped into a solution made of dissolved soda crystals, this
highly alkaline solution turns the paper a deep green

Turmeric is less sensitive than the cabbage water and only responds well to an alkaline solution, When exposed to
soda crystals the paper changes colour to a deep red.

Place the tested pieces of paper again on newspaper or tissue to dry, when they have dried
the students can use them to make a collaborative piece.
After simmering, remove solids by straining and reserve liquid. This is your dye bath.
Exploring AUTUMN
the Nature The season of harvest and preparation — engaging with nature
as the source of an artist’s materials and exploring the science of
recycling and transforming nature’s raw materials into works of art.

of Harmony:
Teaching Resources for an Integrated Approach to the National Curriculum

Binder: Colours From Nature:

Egg Yolk (also known as egg tempera) ochre
Egg tempera was the standard Medieval medium for painting on panels in most parts of The red clay from the pinch pots provides a beautiful
Europe. In the fifteenth century experiments in oils and resins eventually supplanted and and subtle red tone, however some artists may like to
replaced the traditional egg medium, Apart from Russia and areas under the tradition of the have a wider range of colours to work with. To increase
Greek Church, egg tempera passed out of general use in Europe, with a brief revival in the the range of colours at our disposal there are very
nineteenth Century. simple ways of transforming other earth based materials
into a pigment that could be mixed in with the red clay
Egg tempera is the product of the yolk of an egg, which has been diluted by either water, paint.
vinegar or white wine to reduce the oiliness of the yolk itself. Nineteenth century theologian
and philosopher Pavel Florensky in his book Iconostasis promotes the qualities of egg Ochre is natural earth pigment and can be found
tempera painting over other mediums, saying that to use egg yolk as the medium is the most in a variety of tones, ranging from yellows, reds and
symbolic of life. purples. Ochre’s are some of the earliest pigments
used by mankind, evidence of this can be found in
Preparing egg tempera the cave paintings of Lascaux in France and Nawarla
Gabarnmung in Northern Australia.
To make egg tempera, firstly break the egg open and decant the whole into your hand.
Transfer the egg yolk from hand to hand allowing the egg white to separate from the yolk, Changing colours
wash your hand under a tap between each transfer to speed up the process.
Yellow ochre is an inexpensive pigment and can be easily purchased from art suppliers, a list
Colours From Nature: of which has been included in the resources section on page 39. We can use yellow ochre to
demonstrate the dramatic effect of heat on certain pigments.
charcoal & chalk The teacher will need an electric hob, some tin foil, yellow ochre and either a metal spoon
An inexpensive black pigment can be made by crushing charcoal to a fine dust. This is or palette knife. Firstly make a small tray that will fit the size of electric hob from tin foil and
essentially where the colour “vine black” comes from. Charcoal is made by thoroughly
place a small amount of yellow ochre into it. Turn on the hob to a high temperature, ensuring
baking the branches of a willow tree. To turn them black, the branches must be tightly
wrapped in several layers of foil to prevent any oxygen from entering and affecting the that the pupils are aware that they are not to touch it at any point, and gently move around
reaction. “Bone black” is made by burning chicken bones in this same way, but beware: the pigment to ensure that all of the yellow ochre is exposed to the heat.
they will smell horrible when you unwrap them!

If a white pigment is needed, white chalk could be used. Chalk is a soft, white and porous
Gradually the pupils will see the yellow ochre changing colour into a dark burnt tone. Once
sedimentary rock that can be widely found on the coastline of Britain. These pigments can the all of the pigment appears fully burnt, turn off the heat and allow it to cool. Quickly the
be mixed with egg tempera or gum arabic to make a paint. pupils will see the pigment transforming into a beautiful red tone, this tone is known as burnt
ochre. This same process is used to turn the pigment “raw sienna” or “ram umber” into “burnt
To turn the charcoal (or
chalk) into a pigment, sienna” and “burnt umber.”
pupils should take a
pestle and mortar, and
break down the sticks of
charcoal into very fine
particles.

Once the egg white has been fully removed clasp the egg yolk in one hand and pinch the
sac allowing the yolk itself to run into a glass container.

To this add either water, vinegar, white wine or even a mixture of the three. Each artist will
have their own preferred recipe, the important element is for at the end for the tempera
to not produce a paint that is too glossy (too much egg yolk) or with insufficient binding
Yellow ochre changing
qualities (too little egg yolk), it is important to test the paint before using it. to a reddish colour. This
process takes about 5
minutes.

Binder:
Red clay
Gum Arabic Using clay is the most direct and easy way of demonstrating how a painting substance can
Water colour is made from gum Arabic which is yielded from either acacia, plum, apricot or be made from earth, it can also be the most fun. Clay is a heavy sticky earth and is most
cherry trees. Gum Arabic combined with a little honey to prevent the medium from being commonly used for modelling and making ceramics. When water is added to clay a liquid
brittle, produces a transparent paint that is usually applied thinly. known as ‘slip’ is created, it is with this that the paint will be made. This activity however can
prove messy, so the use of apron is advised.
Different coloured pigments can be added to the clay pinch pots to give colour mixtures.
The earliest examples of art made by humans are finger drawings in soft clay on the rock
surface in caves, experts think that these drawings date back to as long ago as 40,000 BC.
Some represent human hands, there are many pictures of animals in different activities,
including animals which are now extinct, even some drawings of geometric figures.

Acacia tree Gum arabic formed in larger lumps

Preparation of Gum Arabic

To prepare the gum arabic solution start by grinding down the gum arabic in a mortar and
pestle until it resembles a coarse dust. The resulting coarse dust should be dissolved in hot
water for around 15-20 minutes. The proportion of water and gum should be:

Gum Arabic Solution

3 parts hot water

Take the clay and start moulding a Once the cup has been moulded, To encourage the water to mix with
1 part Gum Arabic small cup. You can be as elaborate pour in a small amount of water. clay, start stirring the mixture with
as you wish, just as long it can your finger.
Once the gum has dissolved there will still be bits of dirt in the solution, so the mixture will contain a small amount of water.
have to be strained through muslin. To prevent the final tablet of paint from cracking a little
honey is added, approximately 30% honey to gum solution. It is best to use acacia honey as
it is naturally clear and also comes from the same source (the acacia tree) as the gum.

Grinding gum arabic into a course
dust in a pestle and mortar
Dissolving gum arabic in hot water
Take a brush and mix further until
the slip is the consistency of double
cream.
Adding a small amount of acacia
honey to the gum arabic solution
Although the clay is sticky when Once you are happy with the
wet, once it is dry it will no longer mixture apply the paint directly to a
stick to a painted surface. To rectify sheet of watercolour paper.
this add a small amount of egg
tempera. (You could also use gum
arabic.
Exploring WINTER
the Nature The season of hibernation and conserving energy — investigating
the efficiency and beauty of crystalline structures as a foundation for
exploring the principles of tessellation and pattern development.

of Harmony:
Teaching Resources for an Integrated Approach to the National Curriculum

Tessellation Semi-regular Grids

Grids, subgrids and tilings Combining Triangles, Squares & Hexagons with other Polygons
Semi-regular tilings allow for more than one type of polygon but insist that each meeting
Tiling and tessellation have to do with filling the plane such that there are no gaps and
place, point or vertex is the same. For instance, in the top left pattern every vertex is a
no overlaps. There are different categories of tessellation depending on the shapes used.
meeting of two hexagons and two triangles. This example has a fancy name, “trihexagonal
Regular tessellations use tiles of the same shape. There are only three possible forms of
tesselation”, because it is a combination of triangles and hexagons. Hexagons, squares and
regular tilings: these use equilateral triangles, squares and hexagons. In a “regular grid” all
triangles can also be combined to tile a flat surface. There are 8 semi-regular grids. Four
the shapes are identical and every vertex is identical. There are only three ways to tile a
examples are shown below. What other combinations are possible?
plane so that it meets these conditions.

The page opposite shows examples which echo these tiling principles. The bottom row
contains two examples which are tiled using a single shape, but which are not regular. This is
because the vertices are not identical.

Hexagon-based Patterns
The patterns on this page are all based on the hexagon and its close relative, the triangle.
Use them as inspiration in designing some background patterns, noticing how the colour
choices change the final composition.

Regular grid made of triangles. Regular grid made of squares.

The shapes on this page can all be placed side by side to create tilings and tesselations. You
can photocopy this page a few times or trace the shapes so that you have several copies of
each geometric shape to work with. Experiment to discover which shapes tesselate with one
another.

Regular grid made of hexagons

18

Sound-waves vibrating through a viscous liquid. Photograph, H. Jenny.

Figure A

Molecular structures of Hydrogen compounds.

The Arab Academy in Cairo - The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts

six hexagons surrounding the first hexagon centre o.The hexagon pqrstu
abde and nhjm. Hexagon pqrstu connects the centres of the first ring of
the outer ring of twelve. Inside abcdef we observe two root 3 rectangles
hexagon abcdef connects the centres of six hexagons on the corners of
the number sequence is 1,6,12,18, etc. Within the group of nineteen the
hexagons in each successive 'ring'; proceeding outward from the centre
hexagons.The hexagonal numbers are associated with the amount of
with the examination of the portion composed of nineteen dynamic
In Figure A we observe greater depth of the analysis of the hexagonal grid

hexagon and its primary grid

The Hexagon - symbol of Heaven - the construction of the

Hexagons and Triangles in

Geometry Study Schemes PBM - Session One

Hexagon
Islamic Designs in
Geometric Nature
Patterns
and Traditional Islamic Crafts
This page is filled with patterns from the Islamic world which use hexagons and triangles. There
are many different variations. Which ones do you like best? Can you tell what materials they
are made from? Do they give you any ideas for creating your own designs?
tessellating root 3 rhombs.
is itself contrasted with borders of
Roman mosaic, Below Right, which
onal grid can be compared with the
ety of the expression of the hexag-
appropriateness of scale.The vari-
with a significant beauty and
design imbues the resulting fountain
primary grids.The subtlety of the
the internal structure of the
observation and in depth analysis of
knowledge obtained from rigorous
designs are accomplished with the
and four-fold symmetry.These
cut-tile mosaic designs in six-fold
in the Moroccan city of Fes exhibits
the photograph of a small fountain
On the facing page, Above Right,

equilateral triangles and squares.

tessellations of hexagons,
primary 'all space filling'
forms to produce the three
produces interference of wave
vibrating through a viscous liquid
the illustration, Bottom Left, sound
produces similar patterns and in
element water into snowflakes also
grid.The crystallisation of the
bonded in the primary hexagonal
compounds such as Hydrogen are
molecular structures of chemical
man-made structures. Some of the
the patterns of nature and
tessellating hexagons is reflected in
expansion and diminution of
This principle of proportional

nhjm.
overlapping rectangles abde and
is also the shape found within the

A circle’s circumference
divides into six equal por-
tions using its own radius.

The hexagon and triangle

are simple, but very beau-
tiful, pattern matrices.
They are found in many of
Nature’s organic and crys-
talline forms which have
inspired artists of the
Islamic world.

There are two primary tilings that use

octagons, but only one of them is
semiregular. The marble floor from Itmad Ud
DAulah’s tomb arranges octagons point-to-
point, whereas the tiling in the screen from
the Shaykh Safi Ardebil mosque tesselates
them with squares.

This mosaic is an irregular tiling, but if you

divide each diamond in half, you can see
how it was derived from a semiregular grid.
Exploring WINTER
the Nature The season of hibernation and conserving energy — investigating
the efficiency and beauty of crystalline structures as a foundation for
exploring the principles of tessellation and pattern development.

of Harmony:
Teaching Resources for an Integrated Approach to the National Curriculum

Snowflakes Cymatics:
Crystalline flowers Visible sound
Cymatics is the study of visible sound and vibration. The sound figures are images formed
by vibrations on a two-dimensional surface. They were brought to scientific attention by the
late 18th century physicist Ernst Chladni who conducted an experiment where thin plates of
glass or brass where covered with sand and ‘bowed’ along the edge to create vibration. This
action produced spontaneous images in the sand. Different patterns emerge depending on
the geometry of the plate and the frequency passing through the plate.

The Chladni plate makes visible the inherent geometry of sound. Physicists, engineers and
artists have subsequently explored the phenomenon. It remains an area of rich speculative
interest in understanding the relationship between vibration and matter. The harmonic
patterns may be observed in the shell of a tortoise or forming on the skin of a drum with every
beat.
There are a number
of videos online which
demonstrate the use of
a Chladni plate as well
as short documentaries
by researchers such as
Hans Jenny which give a
fascinating introduction to
the subject.
Johannes Kepler was the first person we know of who investigated the mathematics of the Blue and White Ceramic Tiles
snowflake. 274 year later, Wilson Bentley pioneered the photography of snowflakes, taking Cymatics - Bringing Matter
his first pictures on January 15, 1885. He used a bellows camera attached to a microscope These beautiful blue and white ceramic hexagonal to Life with Sound - http://
to capture the images of the snowflakes, after finding that they melted too quickly to draw! tiles on this page are from Turkey and Syria (some
are broken). The simpler designs date to the 15th www.youtube.com/
Bentley took more than 5,000 photographs of snowflakes, with each crystal displaying a century. watch?v=alT1KfE8_sk
unique pattern.
Notice how some of these designs are geometric,
As far as we know, no two snowflakes are alike. For more information on the mathematics of some are floral, some have mirror symmetry and
this uniqueness, visit www.snowcrystals.com. This excellent website also contains information some have rotational symmetry. Because they all
use the same colour, when they are tesselated
on the classification of different types of ice crystals and how they are formed by different with blue tiles they all look beautiful together even
weather conditions. though they are all different.

Water is absolutely essential to life on earth; it is important for us to learn about its cycles and
properties so that we can keep it clean and use it responsibly. We can see water in its three
states on this picture of the earth, taken by the astronauts of Apollo 17: solid (the polar ice
caps), liquid (the oceans) and gaseous (the clouds). When it takes solid form, the molecules The tortoise shell is an example of a natural form whose surface pattern is an echo of
arrange themselves in a hexagonal lattice. This accounts for the hexagonal symmetry of the the cymatic patterns that occur on an oval shaped surface. The shape of the surface
snowflake. The image to the far right shows water in its liquid form (above) and in its solid determines the symmetry and form of the patterns which emerge upon it.
state (below).
The Chladni Plate Experiment
Snowflakes The original Chladni experiment used brass plates which were vibrated by drawing a violin
bow along the edge. These days we can use a mechanical wave driver, which is essentially
Design your own a loudspeaker that has a metal plate balanced on it. Sand is scattered on the plate. When
the plate is vibrating the sand will collect in nodes where there is less vibration on the plate.
Snowflakes are probably the most famous hexagons in nature. In contrast to flowers, To vibrate the speaker, we connect it to a function generator or oscillator, which produces
snowflakes have shapes with straight lines and corners. Use tracing paper on the template a pure signal at a specific frequency. With this setup we are able to find the frequencies that
below and your knowledge of symmetry to come up with a snowflake design. You might want create each distinct pattern.
to use your ruler to add additional lines of symmetry within the template.

Design a Hexagon Tile

Using the skills you have learned while studying symmetry, design your own blue and white
tile. It can combine the techniques you used in both flower and snowflake designs. Begin
by drawing a hexagon connecting the points indicated below and adding any lines of
symmetry you wish to use. Use tracing paper to transfer your completed design to some
white art paper and paint it using blues. Use some of the brush techniques you practiced
earlier (see page 13).

Hans Jenny was a Swiss

doctor who advanced
research in to visible wave
phenomena. In 1967, he
published Cymatics: The
Structure and Dynamics of
Waves and Vibrations. Jenny
experimented with different
materials and substances
to discover the patterns
of sound. For example, he
invented the “tonescope”
that made use of a drum
membrane vibrated by
singing into a tube beneath
it; this revealed pattern
created by the human
voice. Here are images of
some of his experiments.
From Snowflakes: A chapter from the book of nature.
Exploring SPRING
the Nature The season of birth and growth — looking closely at plant structure
to learn from the geometry of nature’s beautiful spirals and the
elegant symmetry of seeds, buds, leaves and flowers.

of Harmony:
Teaching Resources for an Integrated Approach to the National Curriculum

Drawing from Nature Brush Exercises

Choose an object from nature: a leaf, flower, shell, bone, rock, vegetable or feather, for
example. Look at the object you are going to draw very carefully. What are its parts? Does
it have any lines of symmetry? Can you determine how it is structured? If you were going
to described it over the telephone to someone who had never seen it before, how would
you describe it so that they would immediately recognise it, even if it were in a pile of similar
items?
A brush allows you to make many different types of marks, including dots, lines and washes.
The tip of the brush can make very thin lines whilst pushing the belly of the brush toward the
paper gives broader strokes.

Practice making marks that go from thin to thick to thin again. Can you make these marks
look like leaves or petals or blades of grass? On a sheet of paper try painting a line as lightly
as possible and press a little harder until you see the hairs of the brush spread against the
paper, then slowly start to remove your brush from the page while continuing the line.
This should give you a line that moves from thin to thick and thin again. How do the marks
change if you use more or less water?
Exercise  Compose a Four-Fold
Floral Design
Choose one of the motifs on the previous page, or make one of your own design. Compose
a rosette by repeating, rotating and/or reflecting this motif. Make sure your design is strong
and bold. Pin it to a wall and stand one metre away to see if your design is both clear and
beautiful.

When you begin to draw your object, first

draw its basic structure. In this drawing of a
flower to the right, the artist first drew the main
stalk, then added alternating branches, then
added branches and flowers.

After you have mapped the basic structure

of your object, you may add details of shape
and texture if you wish. Using line and different To paint flowers and
mark-making techniques, build up texture leaves, we these brush
on your drawing until you have a detailed strokes in combination
diagram. with lines. Sometimes
it is possible to paint
Don’t worry about being “artistic” – this a leaf with just one
drawing only needs to show information stroke. A flower such
about the details of your object and their as a tulip might be
relationship to each other. Instead, think of painted with three
how to draw a diagram or map of the object well-placed strokes of
you are observing. Does it have a central the brush. Look at the
spine? How do things attach to it? Are lines examples see some
parallel? Are the shapes pointy or round? Is of the effects that
it one colour or many? The drawings on this are possible. What
page were all drawn by young people who other designs can you
did not believe they were artistic. Aren’t they make?
beautiful?

Drawing Leaves The Fibonacci Sequence

basic shape and variations
The Fibonacci series is a number sequence named after the Italian
Leaves are a perfect thing to draw because you can practice using a beautiful variety of mathematician Leonardo Pisano Bigollo (c. 1170 – c. 1250), more
elegant lines. Vary the pressure on your pencil, making sure to draw smoothly. Take time to commonly known as Fibonacci. He is considered by some as the most
copy the graceful curves you see in nature. Use some tracing paper and copy the drawings talented western mathematician of the Middle Ages. In his book Liber
on this page to help you get started, then try your hand at drawing some leaves you have Abaci, written in 1202, he makes mention of a now famous series of
collected from nature. numbers which is often called the “Fibonacci sequence” in his honour.
Encaustic Tiles: Design Inspiration He used this sequence to try to solve a problem about how many
rabbits would be born in a set period of time, but later mathematicians
and artists realised this number pattern had many other applications.

This number series is an integer sequence where the next number is determined by the sum
of the previous two numbers, the first two numbers are 0 and 1.

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, …

This sequence can also be represented graphically as follows. You can see how this pattern
of squares contains a spiral.

Encaustic tiles are decorative tiles made by inlaying two different coloured clays. They are
hard-wearing tiles, so are usually used for floor decoration. They primarily depict floral and
animal motifs that can be repeated, reflected and rotated to form more complex patterns.
This type of design reached its creative peak in 13th Century Europe. More recently, Victorian
artists were inspired by these medieval tiles and created multi-coloured versions.

Encaustic tiles are traditionally made of red clay that has been stamped with a design whilst
the clay is still wet. A white clay slip is poured into these depressions and allowed to dry
almost completely. The surface of the tile is then scraped flat, leaving a crisp, white design
silhouetted against a red background.
Exploring SPRING
the Nature The season of birth and growth — looking closely at plant structure
to learn from the geometry of nature’s beautiful spirals and the
elegant symmetry of seeds, buds, leaves and flowers.

of Harmony:
Teaching Resources for an Integrated Approach to the National Curriculum

Design a Stained Glass Quarry Quatrefoil Constructions:

Draw or trace the rhombus shape below. Use symmetry and space filling to design a motif variations on a theme
to fit its shape. If you are participating in a group project, it is very important that everyone
makes the same size quarry.

A diamond-shaped pane of glass is

called a “quarry.” This shape can also
be called a “rhombus.” It is made of
two equilateral triangles.

Art under the Microscope:

Diatoms
Diatoms are a type of single-celled alga that can group together in vast numbers. They can
be found floating in oceans, freshwater systems, in soils, and even in the feathers of marine
birds. They are essential to the ecosystems that they are found in, not only are they a base
food form for other zooplankton in the oceans, but they also produce huge amounts of
oxygen during photosynthesis.

It is estimated by scientists that diatoms first appeared 200,000 million years ago. They have
at times appeared in such vast numbers that they have left enormous fossilised deposits
of their shells, recorded as up to three thousand feet thick in some places. These deposits
Transfer your design to cartridge or watercolour are known as “diatomaceous earth” and are now used widely for filters, insulation, organic
paper. Using transparent layers will make it look gardening and even for medicinal purposes. The shells are naturally abrasive and for years
were used in toothpaste, as their abrasive texture proved to be a successful way to whiten
more like medieval stained glass. Begin by using your teeth. (However, it also proved effective at wearing down enamel, and was eventually
brown and/or yellow. Use blue and red in very small being banned for use in toothpaste!)
amounts to create emphasis.
It is the intricate architecture of an individual diatom that is of interest for us here. Their shells
are made of silicon dioxide and are typically punctuated with numerous holes. There seems
to be an endless number of shapes that they form, however they can be categorised into
two types. The round/circular forms known called “centrales”, or the elongated or pen-
shaped forms known as “pennales”. Diatoms are perfect examples for displaying and then
discussing principles of symmetry and rotation.

Victorian Creativity
The first documentation of diatoms came from microscopists in London in 1703. As
microscopes became more powerful, the scientific world’s interest in them increased
accordingly, not only as objects of scientific research but also as objects of artistic merit.
In the 19th century, Victorian microscopists made an art form of selecting certain diatoms
and moving them around on the slide with a single human hair attached to a stick. Their
imaginations ran riot, mixing them with the scales of butterfly and insect wings to produce

Techniques to Try Composition for a Rose Window

elaborate geometric patterns, images of floral arrangements, animals and landscapes,
before fixing them into place and displaying them to be viewed through a microscope,
making some of the world’s smallest art!

Beginning with a circle divided into 12 equal sections, draw 3 squares. Using the points where
these squares overlap allows you to derive a spiral of diminishing squares, illustrated in the
Colour your design with wax crayon and use a thin watercolour wash over it to get a drawings below.
luminous effect.

Cut shapes out of black paper and tape coloured tracing paper on the back. This mimics
the stained glass technique used by artists in the Islamic world who carve a pattern out of
plaster and then fix coloured glass on to the back.

Rose window from Chartres

Cathedral, France. Notice the
similar arrangement of the square
Cut your design out as a stencil. Use this stencil to panes.
transfer your design onto a dark-coloured background
with poster paint or gouache. Use bright, opaque
colours to contrast strongly with the dark background.
Exploring SUMMER
the Nature The season of longer days and when we most closely feel the presence
of the sun — investigating the five platonic solids and working with
three dimensional geometry to build efficient structures and shelters.

of Harmony:
Teaching Resources for an Integrated Approach to the National Curriculum

Tetrahedron What is a Platonic Solid? Cube

Imagine a sphere: there are only five ways of dividing it into equal parts.

Keith Critchlow. Order In Space, p. 35.

These divisions of the sphere give birth to five unique 3-dimensional solids.

Daud Sutton, Platonic and Archimedean Solids.

There are exactly five regular solids or polyhedra. A polyhedron is a solid with flat faces.
Neolithic stone spheres carved 4000 years ago in Scotland are our earliest proof that human
beings have been interested in these shapes for thousands of years.

via Keith Critchlow

Plato, a philosopher of Ancient Greece, wrote about these five shapes. Nowadays we still Natural History Museum, London. Delfina Bottesini.
Cubic pyrite. Wikimedia Commons.
call them the Platonic solids. There are five and only five solids that can be called Platonic:
the tetrahedron, the octahedron, the hexahedron (cube), the icosahedron, and the
dodecahedron.
Keith Critchlow, Order in Space, p. 8.
The word “hedron” is from ancient Greek, and means “seat” or “face”. Tetra-, octa-,
hexa-, icosa-, and dodeca- are all number words. Can you figure out which numbers they
correspond to?

A Platonic solid is unique because all its faces are the same shape, all its edges are the same
length and all its angles are equal.

Johannes Kepler, Platonic solids decorated with the elements, from Mysterium Cosmographicum.

PBM 1971
Plato described these five shapes as the building blocks of the universe. He assigned an
element to each solid. The ancient Greeks believed that elements are the substances
essential to life because if even one is removed life would not be possible. Can you name
these traditional elements?

Octahedron Dodecahedron Icosahedron

Keith Critchlow
Richard Henry Fluorite crystal. Natural History Museum, London. Delfina Bottesini.

Natural History Museum, London. Delfina Bottesini. Natural History Museum, London. Delfina Bottesini. Natural History Museum, London. Delfina Bottesini. Icosahedral Adenovirus. Wikimedia commons. Ernst Haekel, from Kunstformen der Nature. Wikimedia Commons.
Exploring SUMMER
the Nature The season of longer days and when we most closely feel the presence
of the sun — investigating the five platonic solids and working with
three dimensional geometry to build efficient structures and shelters.

of Harmony:
Teaching Resources for an Integrated Approach to the National Curriculum

Crystals Chickpea & Grape Geometry

Geometric Structures in Nature Exploring shape and space with simple materials
Soak dried chickpeas overnight (5-8 hours) in a bowl of water.
Materials
The soft chickpeas will form the vertices of your shape. • Large chickpeas (use
A crystal is a group of atoms organized in a pattern that expands in three dimensional dry chickpeas rather
Very gently insert the toothpicks into the chickpeas. Don’t than canned)
space. In addition to being identifiable by their microscopic formation, crystals can often
push them in too far or the chickpeas will break apart. When • A bowl of water
be identified by the shape that is visible to the naked eye. Scientists classify them by the chickpeas dry, the model can be kept for a long time. • A box of toothpicks
the arrangement of their facets and edges, and face orientation. Different crystals have You can use grapes instead of chickpeas, but they will begin • Grapes
different properties and shapes. For example salt crystals are usually cubic where as sugar to mould eventually.
crystals are normally oblong, whereas water crystals (snowflakes) are typically hexagonal.
Which platonic solids are the easiest to build? Which are the most difficult and why? Can you
construct a trussed bridge structure? What is the tallest structure you are able to build? Can
Some elements can adopt more than one you build a dome using geodesic principles?
crystalline arrangement, these different forms
are known as allotropes. Graphite (b) is an
allotrope of carbon which is used in pencils.
Its atoms are arranged in sheets of hexagons bubbles
which slip past each other easily. The hardest
allotrope of carbon, the diamond, has a
Bubbles are one way that nature makes spheres.
tetrahedral structure (a)which is extremely Because soap film is such a fragile material, bubbles
strong and hard. automatically form shapes that create the least
amount of surface tension. A single bubble floating in
the air will always seek to form a sphere because this is
Crystals are formed by growing. In the case the most efficient shape (when bubbles get very large,
this is more difficult because they also have to deal
of salt, the structure formed by the joining with gravity and air currents).
of sodium and chlorine atoms is cubic. In a
When you blow soap bubbles, observe them very
water solution, salt crystals begin to grow when a sodium ion and a chlorine ion form carefully. Even if you blow a bubble through a square-
what is called an ionic bond; this is when two separate atoms are joined by sharing a shaped frame instead of the standard circle, the
bubble will still form itself into a sphere. When a bubble
pair of electrons. As water evaporates from the solution, the salt crystals grow larger as starts to warp or bend, it is a sign that it is just about to
additional molecules bond to each other. Because of their atomic structure, the crystals pop.

will always be cubic. Next observe what happens when two bubbles touch.
What happens? What shapes form? If two bubbles
touch each other without merging, they reduce
material or surface area by sharing a common wall.
Engineers and mathematicians have studied bubbles
to learn about how to build stronger and more efficient
structures. What other things can you learn from
bubbles?

Bubble recipe
• a bowl of distilled water
• half a cup of glycerin
• washing up liquid/detergent
• straws
• pipe cleaners
• bubble blower wire with a circle at the end.

Mix the water with a 50/50 ratio of glycerin and

detergent. Dip your polyhedron into the bubble
mixture. Try to create different configurations by using
the bubble blower to add additional bubbles.

Grow your Own Crystals Alexander Graham Bell

Borax & Sugar Let’s go fly a kite!
An exciting way of seeing crystal growth is by making a supersaturated borax or sugar
Alexander Graham Bell was an inventor and scientist born in 1847. He is famous for inventing
solution. Borax is an irritant so care must be taken with it around children. Borax is very soluble
the first working telephone, but not many people know that between 1891 and 1909 he
in hot water (not cold water). As the solution cools down, the borax starts forming small
worked on a project to design “Flying Machines of the Future”. Bell thought that kites could
crystals. Crystals start growing by a process called “nucleation”. Nucleation can either start
with a few borax molecules sticking together on their own, or with the help of something solid Spherical Geometry be the most efficient structure to enable human flight. In producing his kites he had to
consider lightness and strength. Bell was drawn to the structure of the tetrahedron in his
suspended in the solution.
research into kite framing, because it is the most stable three dimensional structure. It had
Art? Sport? Mathematics? the best strength-to-weight ratio of all the designs he had worked with, including boxes and
hexagons. It required the least amount of framing to build a resilient structure and the least
When we think about geometry, we often fabric for its sails, yet it possessed a great deal of three-dimensional strength because each
think of flat shapes that can be drawn on a corner of the tetrahedron is braced and supported by the others.
piece of paper. But what if we draw those
shapes on a curved surface like a sphere?
Bell wanted to create a kite big enough to carry both a man and a motor. In 1904 Bell
Would all the rules about geometry remain
the same? flew the “Frost King” a tetrahedral kite made of over one thousand 10 inch cells of red silk.
It weighed only 27kg and could lift up to 110kg. There were further models and test flights
These images show 5 special shapes, known that had some limited success. The project of powered kites that could carry humans was
as “Platonic solids,” drawn on a sphere, so
that their usually straight edges are now
abandoned when the Wright brothers developed the first practical fixed-wing aircraft.
curved around the surface of the sphere.
What makes a triangle still be a triangle if it is Bell’s research and kite structure is still useful to
curved around a sphere? explore the unique properties of the tetrahedron.
If you make a shape out of a pipe cleaner and hang it in the borax solution, the molecules
Individuals can contribute one or many
will ‘stick’ to the pipe cleaner and the crystals will form in the shape that you have made. The
tetrahedral cells that can be combined into a
borax should start to form tiny crystals on the pipe cleaner after just a few hours.
wonderful structure.

Different sports use balls of various sizes. Most sports balls are made up of multiple segments
of material stitched together. These segments are usually arranged geometrically. As you
learn about the Platonic solids, notice which balls are examples of the different solids.

Over time these crystals will continue to grow larger and larger.

This same process can be followed using sugar. Add sugar to hot water
by teaspoons until the solution cannot absorb any more. Suspend a
cotton string or a lollipop stick in the solution. Sugar crystals will begin
forming around the string. It will takes a little longer for sugar crystals to Japanese Geometric Art
grow than it does for borax crystals, but they are edible!
Temari is an ancient Japanese folk art: “te” means “hand,” “mari”
means “ball” and it is thought that a simpler version of these beautiful
objects used to be used in ball games.Historically, these brightly
embroidered spheres were made from pieces of old kimonos and
then embroidered with geometric designs. Temari toys usually have
some rice, pebbles, or a small bell hidden in their center to make
them rattle. This art form requires the artist to be able to think three-
dimensionally. A temari maker is also a mathematician!
Exploring classroom
the Nature outcomes
of Harmony:
Teaching Resources for an Integrated Approach to the National Curriculum
Exploring classroom
the Nature outcomes
of Harmony:
Teaching Resources for an Integrated Approach to the National Curriculum