Mathematical Art and Full Moon

The latest distraction in my life is a program called iOrnament.  It's a doodle-pad that has some automatic graphic symetry built into it.  Paint a line, and it's instantly reflected, glided, and tessellated into one of seventeen different patterns -- it's kind of like drawing with a kaleidoscope.  

It's very easy to get Moroccan tiles out of it, and I think if I choose the right settings and place curves carefully I can get Celtic knots out of it.

I'd say for the most part it's relaxing, but it runs on my mobile, so I'll have to watch out that I don't get a kink in my neck from hunching over a notecard-sized drawing area while I swipe lines with my fingertips. Like most art tools, I think you get what you put into it.  

I may or may not have gotten a kink in my neck working on the fiddly details of green scarab legs in an Egyptian-inspired design.  

Last night was the Full Moon.  It became visible above the hills and trees around 9:45 PM.  The geography of our back yard means that it can be difficult to site the Moon in the Summer time -- especially if the Moon is hanging out below the ecliptic, which makes a low summer moon even lower.  

Last night was also the night "Jefferson Starship" performed at the county fair, so strains of "Jane," "Somebody to Love," and "We Built This City" kept floating over the hill and ricocheting off of the neighbor's houses.  Luckily for the mystic vibes, by the time the moon rose high enough in the sky to be visible, the concert was finished.  

I wasn't in the mood for a Full On Solitary Neo-Pagan High Ritual, so I set up the Four Cardinal Patio Tables, got a chair, and quietly harped in the shadows and dappled moonlight.  Many of the tunes I play are traditional ballads in the key of A-minor, and I tried to focus on songs in C-major instead.  There was a lot of improvisation, but I did manage to pluck out "Center of the Sun," which I always imagine hearing the old Seattle a cappella group, "We Three" singing, but comes out nicely on the harp.  

The reflective moment was a grounding end to an obnoxious week.