The golden ratio is something used in a lot architecture and is very famous in the construction industry. What you may not know about it though is that it is used in many more things then just construction. Many famous artists have used the golden ratio in famous art pieces. Leonardo Da Vinci used it in his portrait of the Mona Lisa, which is one of the most famous paintings in the world.
He also used it in the famous painting known as The Last Supper.
Said to be the ratio that is most pleasing to the eye it is used in many places you would not expect and if you look hard enough you will be able to find it everywhere. Our project for this unit in math was to create a work of art, music, architecture or an exposition of nature that clearly shows the golden ratio in it’s work. I was very excited to start this project as I already had a few ideas in my mind and couldn’t wait to start building my project.
The first thing that came to my mind for this was to create a table that would be designed around the golden ratio. However soon after I quickly realized that there was no way I could create a table in the time that I had. So I went to idea number 2 which was to create a picture frame that was the golden ratio and then put a picture inside of it that I created based around the golden ratio. This was something that I could do in the time that I had and I got right to it. The first thing I had to do was of course the most important part, which was to create all of the measurements that I would use during the construction. Without this stage there would be no point in making the rest of the project so I had to make sure I got everything right.
After this stage it was time to start cutting the wood that I would use for the picture frame. This is where all of the measurements that I had made before came into play. I had to make sure that all of the measurements were as accurate as I could possibly get because this was the main part of my project. Once I had measured the pieces of wood that I would use I cut them to shape and I made sure that they could all fit together into a picture frame. I then started to put the picture frame together. The first thing I did was glue all of the sides together to make sure that it would stick together a little bit and it wouldn’t just randomly fall apart. Having just glue would not be strong enough to hold it together so I put screws into the corners, this would make it a lot stronger. It was then time to polish the whole thing off. What I mean by this is sanding and making sure there were no sharp corners or splinters that would make it look bad or could harm you. This was the final part of the picture frame and after this it was time for me to design the photo that I would put in the picture frame.
I knew immediately what I wanted to do for my picture. I have always loved taking photos and one of my favourite types of photos are landscape photos, that is what I designed. I started to make a landscape shot of a city at sunset. All of the buildings in this drawing are made using the golden ratio, as well as the ocean at the bottom. I made this by using an app called sketches pro. I managed to get a golden ratio measurement by using a ruler on my iPad, it wasn’t the most practical way of doing it but it definitely got the job done.
Once I had made the photo it was time to put everything together. I started by cutting out a front and a back for the frame, this consisted of a back cardboard sheet that would hold the picture in place and a front sheet of clear plastic that would give it a glass like effect. It was then finished I was very happy with how it turned out.
In the end I had a picture frame that I made myself and a picture to go with it all based on the golden ratio. Through this project I learned how to make a picture and how to apply measurements to my everyday life. I think that this is something that will help me when I am older so I know how to build things and keep everything up to date. The picture that I made helped me understand drawing more and made me realize just how useful my iPad can be in everyday life with design and architecture. In the future I am definitely going to use my iPad more to help me everyday tasks like this and I learned a lot from this math project.
