About | headingsarts

Mathematics and Art

These trees contain many Fibonannci numbers (1,1,2,3,5,8,13...) and Golden Ratios (1.618 : 1)

Fibonacci numbers are found throughout nature - in the number of petals in wildflowers, in the number of spirals in pinecones and sunflower seed heads, and in the number of cross sections in fruit. These numbers are organic. I use them in the wire trees to give the trees a more natural, pleasing look. You will find Fibonacci numbers in my trees in the number of roots, the number of roots that divide, and in the total number of root tips. The number of main branches are usually Fibonacci numbers. The tiny branches are divided from groups of 5 into 3 and 2, the 3 are then divided into 2 and 1, and the 2's are divided into 1 and 1 - all Fibonacci numbers.

The Golden Ratio is important for all artists. If you take the ratio of consecutive Fibonacci numbers, the closer you get to infinity, the closer you get to the Golden Ratio. The Golden Ratio is a ratio that is unexplainably attractive to the human eye. I incorporate this ratio (1:1.618...) into my trees in terms of the height versus the width. The Golden Ratio will also appear in terms of the area taken up by the tree, versus the rock/wood base. The same rule of thirds from photography also applies to the trees.

Research both of these terms for many more ways in which numbers are important in nature.

About the artist - Ron Headings

Ron, 63, began creating wire trees as a teenager in Kansas. Inspired by his love of horticulture and the coaching of a local county extension agent, Ron has refined his work with wire, rock and wood over the years.

These trees are like people, the forest like humanity.

They come in an infinite number of colors, shapes, and sizes, each one beautiful in its own way. The trees, like people, are shaped by their genetic structure and by the environment in which they live.

Trees are created as a certain species with a variety of characteristics. Then they are changed by the location in which they live, the amount of water and nutrients they receive and the impact of wind and weather.

I plant real trees

For each tree I sell, I plant a real tree in reforestation projects around the world.