Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

More Than Meets The Eye; Accessibility Of Scientific Information Through Art, Rachael Barrows

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Science is inaccessible to learn in a myriad of ways. Financially it can be difficult to get information. It can also be hard to look up information on your own without knowing what to look for. Teaching science also involves a lot of reading that can be difficult for some disabilities. Through art, however, science can become more accessible, both to share and to learn. Visual learning benefits understanding and retention of information as well as creates clearer holistic concepts. Through paintings, this project shares some scientific information, exploring a way to share and teach science that is more accessible.

21st Century Ecopoetics And Ecotheory, Robert Balun

Open Educational Resources

Ecopoetics is the study of literature that is concerned with ecology and nature. However, beyond just literature about nature, this course will examine how ecology and nature have become complicated in the 21st century, the age of the Anthropocene, the age of the climate crisis and the 6th mass extinction (don’t worry, we will define these and other key terms).

In the 21st century, humans are now confronted with a growing awareness of their destructive impact on the earth, its environments, and its human and non-human inhabitants. In this class we will examine how ecology and nature have become complicated …

Museum Exploration Club, Celeste Kenworthy, Aurora Kenworthy

Honors Expanded Learning Clubs

Afterschool club that virtually visits museums in order to help students gain an appreciation for museums and learn about concepts related to art, history, and science.

Chemistry Meets Art: Instrumental Analysis At The Lcva, James Rakes, Mia Arrieta, Kaleigh Beale, Adonel Grubb

Spring Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

This project is an ongoing collaboration between the Longwood chemistry program and the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts. The demonstration shows the capabilities of the X-ray fluorescence spectrophotometer as a non-destructive elemental analysis technique. Our class visited the LCVA to analyze several pieces in their art collections. We were able to utilize the XRF instrument to analyze the elemental composition of glass and metal, painted pottery and porcelain, oil paintings, and metals. This project lays the groundwork for further research using X-ray fluorescence for non-destructive chemical analysis.

Bézier Curves, Qing Chen, Ariane Masuda

Publications and Research

Drawing on a computer using a mouse is quite different than drawing by hand. It can be challenging to use a mouse to even simply trace a line. If the drawing involves several lines and curves, the task becomes more complicated. The goal of this project is to show how to design beautiful artworks using Bézier curves. A Bézier curve is a smooth parametric curve produced by the coordinates of certain points. To draw a specific curve, one needs to select multiple control points positioned in strategic places. By changing these positions, one can draw different curves to produce the …

The Beauty Of Bézier Curves, Qing Chen, Ariane Masuda

Publications and Research

It is very difficult for ordinary people to become excellent painters like Picasso. In contemporary society, everyone has a computer, but no one associates painting with computers. This project aims to show that one can use computer tools to connect mathematics with art. We use Krita, which is a professional free, and open-source painting program made by artists to create digital art. We demonstrate how the Bezier curve pen tool in Krita can help anyone to ́ draw paintings such as Picasso’s cubist oil paintings on a computer in a relatively short time.