Dana Ollestad’s Research: Float

"... a way of freeing a form into an object that has different degrees of freedom."
Tom Shannon, American-born artist and sculptor, TED Talks 2003

"Something that you recognize ther in nature, whether it's a billowing of a tarp in the wind or birds moving or the surface of water, it's not like i'm trying to copy nature, i'm trying to somehow relate to it, and if i can make anything that has that same quality."
- Reuben Margolin, American-born artist and sculptor, "Kinetic Wave Sculptures" Make: Interview

Annotated bibliography of a text dealing with the topic
Mathematics and Art, Claude P. Bruter, editor, Springer 2002, ISBN: 3540434224
Recent progress in research, teaching and communication has arisen from the use of new tools in visualization. To be fruitful, visualization needs precision and beauty. This book is a source of mathematical illustrations by mathematicians as well as artists. It offers examples in many basic mathematical fields including polyhedra theory, group theory, solving polynomial equations, dynamical systems and differential topology. For a long time, arts, architecture, music and painting have been the source of new developments in mathematics. And vice versa, artists have often found new techniques, themes and inspiration within mathematics. Here, while mathematicians provide mathematical tools for the analysis of musical creations, the contributions from sculptors emphasize the role of mathematics in their work. [Amazon]

How to Ace Calculus: The Streetwise Guide, Adams, Thompson, Hass (authors), W. H. Freeman 1998, ISBN: 0716731606
Written by three gifted—and funny—teachers, How to Ace Calculus provides humorous and readable explanations of the key topics of calculus without the technical details and fine print that would be found in a more formal text. Capturing the tone of students exchanging ideas among themselves, this unique guide also explains how calculus is taught, how to get the best teachers, what to study, and what is likely to be on exams—all the tricks of the trade that will make learning the material of first-semester calculus a piece of cake. Funny, irreverent, and flexible, How to Ace Calculus shows why learning calculus can be not only a mind-expanding experience but also fantastic fun. [Amazon]

Brief summary of how this topic relates to your work or how it could effect it
During a talk with John SImon Jr., we decided that a place of inspiration for me was the sea.. the vast and unending expanse. Something that someone can lose themselves in. I agree, and certainly played an important role in my last body of work. I started looking at work that was vast, or wavelike, or floating- a mechanical allusions to the sea for me. There seems to be a lot of related artwork out there that's interesting; a lot of science, engineering, electrical engineer, computer programing; a bit overwhelming. Like the sea, I suppose.