Helena Handbasket

By Tivoli

When maths gets pretty.

Once upon a time I lived in a South London High Street which hosted a regular street market on several days a week. Each of its functioning days had a different emphasis, I no longer recall exactly what they were, but Saturdays were the big market with everything, and occupied additional space not required by Monday-to-Friday commuter car-parking.
On one Saturday each summer the local market hosted equivalent stalls from French street markets, and suddenly we could avail ourselves of exciting charcuterie, cheeses, and home-ware from North Africa.
It was at one of those that I found the “Happy Table” - an immensely heavy creation from Morocco, of green and yellow mosaic tiles set in concrete within the metal rim of a cartwheel, plonked precariously upon a curvy wrought-iron base. I imagine that the base had been created with a lighter top in mind, or the top had ended up heavier than expected, but either way, as long as the top was placed exactly centrally on the base, it was a perfect match.
You couldn't unbalance it with anything reasonable, but an adult leaning heavily, or a 7 year-old standing on the outer edge, was a recipe for injury. I think 7 year-old Connor's parents still owe me for a pack of frozen peas! ;-)
Whatever! I love that table! It's still there and it's going nowhere.
One day I hope to find another similar beast, as and when I have some outdoor space in which to enjoy it.
But for a long time now, since I don't watch TV, and I haven't come up with a new sewing / embroidery / tattoo project, and my proposed wall-spraying stencil project is currently in abeyance, I have been fiddling about with imaginary mosaic tables.
The maths involved is fascinating! Both in terms of tessellation and colour gradation.
I'd be very interested to learn which of the images you find more soothing; generally left or right; generally top or bottom; or specifically any one corner.

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