(20)12-20(21): Ten Years of Inspiration

202112" x 12" x 12"wood, mat board, and acrylic paint Rotate and contemplate this luxurious sculpture laden with hidden meanings. The piece was a true labor of love, conceived to represent my (first) ten years of study of this magnificent design tradition, and taking over a year to come to full fruition. While you can read the full story here, the short version is that in the midst of the 2020 pandemic I was desperately looking forward to the arrival of 2021, and got it into my head to create a piece of art centered around that number. Each of the 20 vertices has a 21-pointed star, representing 2021, and 20-pointed stars on the 12 faces represent 2012 (the year I began exploring Islamic patterns in earnest).  Each face has two layers. The bottom layer is wood hand painted in acrylic in rich tones of blue, green, and magenta. On top of this is a raised layer of interlacing bands, laser cut from mat board and painted in gold acrylic. The entire sculpture is finished with several coats