The Work´s Theme”

 After an analysis of the possibilities of combining the themes and techniques that both artists have been developing, the idea came up to use the leadwork “structure” in Rosemary´s work with the spiral geometry which Alonso has been studying for some time. Besides, this combination adapted itself perfectly to the “textile” concept Rosemary has given her work and the idea of natural growth represented by Fibonacci´s spiral. With this theme they found the ideal combination between a mathematical structure in Alonso´s work and the textile characteristic of Rosemary´s project.

 The name Fibonacci´s Spiral was denominated in honor to the 13^th century Italian mathematician Leonardo de Pisa (Fibonacci), who defined the succession that carries his name, Fibonacci´s Succession (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.), in which each element is the sum of the two previous numbers. It is a simple succession but has very interesting qualities.  The most recognized aspect is that the relation between two consecutive elements tends towards the well-known constant, Fi (F) = 1.618034 . . . This relation is known in the arts as the aureate proportion, or golden number.  If a spiral has a growth radius equivalent to Fi, the result is the logarithmic spiral or natural spiral, also known as the Fibonacci´s spiral.  The proportion of growth of this spiral is very frequent in nature.  It coincides with the form of growth of certain species of snails and some inflorescences (for example, the distribution of seeds in the sunflower or in pine-trees).  In the process of the plants´ growth (phyllotaxis), it is possible to recognize the Fibonacci sequence in the number of leaves produced by the stem. 

 The theme was appropriate not only due to the fusion of the works of both artists; it also reflected the symbolism of an artistic idea going through the processes of gestation, growth and development. The work emerged naturally, as the meeting of two artistic minds, just like the fallen seed that germinates, unfolds and develops in space, following the lines of nature until its culmination, spreading out like a flower or a plant cluster closing their natural cycles of life.

-The Materials
In spite of the textile character of the biennial, the idea from the beginning was to think about non-conventional materials for this art.  Rosemary is a stained-glass artist as well, while Alonso studied engineering so that metal proved to be the natural choice when thinking through the materials for the project.  They used bronze rods, which are malleable but rigid enough to adjust the structure of the work, and copper wire, flexible and easy to handle, in order to “tie up” the bronze rod end bundles.  Welding the rods´ joints was considered at some point, but it proved to be preferable to interweave and sew them with the wires to maintain a sense of the textile. Finally, they put pieces of colored glass with numbers which coincided with the Fibonacci series to include the stained-glass concept and add to the work a touch of color and movement.

 -The Making of the Work
The first step was to produce a tentative design for the structure according to which all of the rods would reflect the form of a spiral. They bent the rods, one by one, following the pre-established pattern so that the rods came about regularly.  This process was long and tedious as they had to be sure of each spiral´s correct proportion.  Next they “tied up” the spirals in bundles according to the numbers in the Fibonacci series (5, 8, 13).  Various ways of combining the bundles were rehearsed until obtaining a satisfactory composition. They interwove and “tied up” the spirals with a single copper wire thread off the center and out so the structure would remain firm and artistically agreeable.  Last they stuck the irregular pieces of glass, harmoniously distributing them on top of the copper framework. The work is designed for hanging a certain distance from the wall, preferably white, the light aiming obliquely to emphasize the stained-glass concept and produce shadows on the wall that would augment the textile complexity and movement.

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