God's Eye Geometry and a Crafty Weekends Link Party 2 Weeks Long!

Last week I shared about Easter in Bermuda and the Bermudian kites reminded me of fancy God's Eyes. It got me thinking about God's Eyes and making some. I looked on-line and there are plenty of tutorials out there like this one over at Crafts by Amanda.  


God's Eyes are a spiritual and votive object made from weaving yarn around sticks. They are popular in Mexican and Mexican American communities. Some believe the God's Eye to have power to see what the physical eye cannot. During Spanish colonial times they were placed where people worked or along walking trails in New Mexico. They are also believed to protect people while they are praying. They have spiritual associations with the indigenous tribes: Huichol and Tepehaun of Western Mexico. When a Huichol baby is born the father weaves the center part of the eye and a layer is added for each year of the child's life until age five. (Source) Traditionally the God's Eye is woven around a cross of sticks.

This brings to mind Easter for me with the name God's Eye and the cross. The weaving forms a quadrilateral. Traditionally different colors are used. 

Now when I looked on Google I found some really interesting ones that were made using more sticks. I decided to experiment. First I used three sticks and hoped to see a hexagon.

Then I wanted to try four sticks to see an octagon. I was trying to figure out if I could make the shapes regular (equal sides and equal angles), but it is tricky to get the sticks positioned correctly for this to happen. My octagon came somewhat close but is not actually regular in a geometric sense.

Next I began to experiment with skipping sticks as I weaved. I love how this one came out.

By skipping sticks I was able to add squares to my octagon. I also was able to rotate the squares depending on which sticks were skipped. (By the way a square is a regular quadrilateral by definition.) Hazel really liked this one as well. I think I may hang it in her bedroom to remind her God is watching over her.

My next experiment was to see what shapes I could make on one God's Eye. It is not as pretty, but it has a triangle, square, pentagon, hexagon and octagon. I didn't bother with the heptagon (7-sided). 

The back can also be pretty with the wrapped sticks. I have seen some that show some of this wrapping on the front as well.

So experimenting with this craft, I discussed shapes, defined regular and could certainly see that two lines intersect in a point; discuss parallel lines (pairs of sides) and the properties of them with a line going through (the stick). Of course if I was teaching an actual lesson I would work on getting the angles correct. Perhaps the discussion of what the angles between the sticks should be to get a regular hexagon or octagon would be a great place to begin. Then of course measuring those angles. The angle size is easy enough to calculate (360/number of sides). I love seeing the math that can come out of a craft I made as a child plus I love learning the history of the craft. 

It is time to see what you have been creating! Thank you to everyone who shared with us last week. The party was a fun one with lots of beautiful crafts shared! There were many Easter ideas!! Below are a few of the features from our party. Please remember for your child-oriented crafts, activities, lessons, etc. Sharing Saturday is going on!!  Also don't forget to link up all your diverse and cultural posts at Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop! Since next week is Easter Sunday, this party will last two weeks!! Be sure to come back and share again with us!! I can't wait to see what you have been creating!!

Features

1) From Flamingo Toes: Spring Bunnies in Love Pillow 

2) From Bombshell Bling: Easter Placemats

3) From The Scrap Shoppe Blog: Framed Paper Bunny

4) From Duct Tape and Denim: DIY Wire Easter Bunny Ears for Unique Eggs

5) From Raji's Craft Hobby: Easter Basket

6) From Life Sew Savory: Felt Easter Basket Tutorial

7) From Celebrating Everyday Life: DIY Speckled Eggs

8) From Busy Being Jennifer: DIY Home State Tee

9) From LiliaCraftParty: Lucky Star Pot Holder Pattern


Thank you to everyone who shared the last week!! I hope you will share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog. I would love the help spreading the word about Crafty Weekends!!

An InLinkz Link-up