Textiles and textile design are very importantin the art world. The designs and fabrications have changed from culture toculture, artist to artist, expressing history and experiences throughoutgenerations. In today's technologically generated world, fractal designedtextiles have become the next wave for new ideas in design. Fractals areincredibly beautiful designs which can be enjoyed for their color and amazinglyinfinite detail. Designing with fractals really came into its own with theadvent of the computer. Since the mid 70's, the theory of Fractal Geometry wasdeveloped by Benoit Mandelbrot who used the word "fractal" todescribe irregularly-shaped objects in nature. The study of fractals hasexpanded so greatly in such a short time that it is used in over 200 fields ofart and design as well as mathematics. In industry, fractals are used tocompress images by reducing data redundancies, creating a perfect platform fortextile design.

Fractal textiles have been used for decades now to refer to textiles featuringa fractal pattern. Keep in mind though, that it does not necessarily imply thatthe fractals were computer generated using a fractal algorithm. In ancienttimes many textile patterns showed elements of fractals, due to the appeal ofself similarity. These designs were made with little complexities, leading tothe survival in the evolution of decorative design. Fractals are mathematicequations, which set out to integrate the design process beginning with adesign created with mathematics of fractal geometry. These fractal geometricimages are then scanned into a computer's CAD systems program which creates theartwork. The artwork is based purely on mathematics, using the latest computerprograms, generating new textile designs.

By the 1980's, pictures of the Mandelbrot Set became very popular, this led tomany articles in home craft magazines covering fractal crafts. It was usuallycross stitch or quilting technics which were used as a display for fractalimaging. The fractals were then generated through the computer, thentransferred to the textile medium. The fractals worked by themselves or becameinspiration for new design ideas and technics.

Just think of it, fashion and mathematics together. A well known textile artistwho uses computer generated fractals for her designs is Jhane Barnes. Using ahandloom in her early design years accelerated when she discovered the designcapabilities of math and a computer. Jhane redefined fashion textiles, usingweaving and textile software to decide how the design will be woven intofabric. Fractal computer generated designs exploded within the boundaries ofher own creative mind, revolutionizing the world of textile designs. Thesefabricated textiles are created for men's wear, footwear, as well as carpetsand home dcor. Jhane's extensive use of computer design has even caught theattention of the world of mathematics. She was even featured in a chapter of aMcDougal Littell textbook entitled 'Sequences and Series: Fractals forfashions. She is touted as one of the formost American designers today and ispart of the Ohio Math Works, which prepares ninth grade math students forreal-world applications of their math studies.



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