Franklin Martin Jr.

Contemporary Geometric Beadwork
Long Beach, California, USA
Beadwork artist always looking to explore the areas where math and art collide. Growing up in New York with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in his backyard Franklin has always been surrounded by art. His explorations in art took him to drawing and painting. Franklin has won awards for his acrylic and oil paintings in the pointillism style. He has a great color aesthetic that comes from 28 years in the fashion industry. In 2015 he turned his artist attention to beads and the development of dimensional beadwork. You will be able to see some of his work published in the upcoming book Contemporary Geometric Beadwork Vol. 3
Frozen Moment: Rick-Rack Bangle from PodCast Bead
16 x 16 x 9 cm
Sewn Beadwork: precision glass cylinder beads and thread
This piece is caught in a frozen moment in time, just before a piece of wearable art (in this case a Rick-Rack Bangle in bold oranges and purples) separates from its folded polygonal parent, a casting model called the PodCast Bead (in pale gold and green in the center).

This method of making was a significant breakthrough for the Contemporary Geometric Beadwork team because it allowed us to begin even very large waveforms or spiky pieces without having to use the traditional loose-bead starts (or other straight-line based methods) to do so.

Using this new technique, with only one small snip, the bangle will separate cleanly from the Pod, and it can be used again to start another new piece.
Hand-sewn Kaleidocycle turning toy
8 x 8 x 3 cm
Sewn Beadwork: precision glass cylinder beads and thread
The Kaleidocycle is a form that was popularized as origami turning toy in the 1970s by mathematician Doris Schattschneider and graphic designer Wallace Walker. It was adapted from an engineering linkage of mirror tetrahedra, one of the many linkages designed and discovered by the French mathematician Raoul Bricard.

My version is also a dynamic and fun turning toy, and is hand-sewn from precision glass cylinder beads and thread. For each of the 4 faces of this turning cycle, I created 6 small triangles, for a total of 24 elements. I then assembled and connected these elements into a joined linkage.

Each of the four faces has two different possible expressions, depending on which direction the cycle is turned.