I have also been greatly inspired by Helaman Ferguson who introduced me to stone sculpture inspired by mathematics in 1978.
The following pictures show the early status of a mahogony piece while still in rather rough form. Only one side had been somewhat polished, but the wood grain is already visible there.
The following pictures show a much later stage of the same piece, very close to completion, but not stained.
The following pictures show the final stage of the same piece, polished and stained.
The following pictures show the first (stone) sculpture I made while visiting Helaman in Utah in 1978. It is a very soft stone, and was done all by hand tools except for the initial drilling of the central hole. It is a torus with a circle drawn on it representing a nontrivial element of the fundamental group. The curve goes around three times before going through the hole to close up into a circle. Considering instead the surface, there is a strip which runs around three times before plunging through the hole to close up into a Mobeus strip.
The following pictures show a later stone sculpture I made
from a very soft stone, supported on a wooden base so that it can rotate.
It was done all by hand tools and is entitled: Eternal Flame.
I have made a couple marble sculptures with small pieces of marble given to me by Helaman Ferguson many years ago. I made one piece into a torus like the one shown above, but smaller and more slender. I gave it to Don Zagier in graditude for the wonderful hospitality he and his wife, Silke, have always shown me when I visit Bonn, Germany. On my most recent visit in August 2007 I took the following pictures of it.
I also made a small piece into the following useful item for my desk, to hold a letter openner. It could be called The Sword in the Stone, and the base stone is 3 and 1/2" long..
To see more types of sculpture I have tried, follow the following links:
Links back to:
Webpage of Alex Feingold,
Department of Mathematical Sciences,
Binghamton University.