GEOMETRY
IN TRADITIONAL QUILT DESIGNS
by Julie Curtis
Murphy Middle School - Murphy, NC
Adventure of the American Mind - Western Carolina University
curtisjm@cherokee.k12.nc.us
Western North Carolina and the entire Appalachian region is very rich in the tradition of handicrafts such as basket-making, woodcarving, rug-making, blacksmithing, enameling, tin-punch and pottery as well as many others. Some of these arts are created free-style, but others are the result of calculations, precision, and a master plan of a master artist. These crafts are intricate mathematical displays of rotations, reflections, translations, symmetry and a variety of geometric concepts.
This geometry unit is designed for seventh grade math and pre-algebra students. Students will be contacting local and regional quilters in an effort to learn about the history of quilting, as well as exploring the designs, patterns, colors and cultural influence in our area. This discovery will include people of all cultures who have moved to this area and blended their quilting traditions with those of the people of western North Carolina. Their search will include, but is not limited to the Afro-American and Native American cultures. In this quest for information, they will attempt to discover new patterns, designs and variations created by the people of this area.
Students will explore the mathematical connections (on a middle grade level) to the traditional mountain art of quilt making while using technology to explore the rich cultural history of the craft. They will take this information and create a quilt pattern database which will help them to recognize some of the more simple designs based on their knowledge of geometric shapes and basic quilt blocks.
Grandmother
and Granddaughter with Nine-Patch Quilt
Courtesy of Library of Congress
Call Number NV8-RA21-1
Digital ID afc96ran 46382
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/ncr:@field(DOCID+@lit(n46382))