Diamonds Radiating to Infinity
Kathleen P. Decker
Artwork for ‘Infinity‘ (Issue 24)
The Science
Explosions are finite and self-limiting. There is a range of pressure and temperature for which an explosive reaction at a fixed composition mixture is possible. The composition has to be within the flammable range and the reaction is usually initiated by a self-heating reaction at those conditions. Explosion limits are given in terms of a minimum autoignition temperature for ignition of fuel injected into hot air. Although scientifically impossible, the poem and the artwork combine to express an uncontrolled, infinite, explosion of joy by diamonds - because those geometric shapes seemed to come to life and sing to me!
https://shepherd.caltech.edu/EDL/PublicResources/flammability.html
The Medium
This is a textile artwork created by machine-appliqué of cotton/metallic fabric onto a cotton background to create the large diamonds. Machine embroidery was also performed on the background fabric to create the smaller diamonds and infinity symbols. Wadding of 80/20 cotton/polyester and backing of cotton was free-motion quilted on a domestic machine and quilted in the hoop. It is 35” high by 27” wide by 0.25” deep.
The Artist
Kathleen P. Decker is an award-winning poet, fibre artist, musician, and psychiatrist. She is president of the Poetry Society of Virginia, has published seven poetry books, and edited seven poetry anthologies. Her most recent anthology, Making the Unseen, Seen (High Tide Publications, 2025), is an anthology about climate change. Kathleen is also a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. www.KathleenDeckerAuthor.com
Associated Poem
at first, I thought you were just hard and strict
black lines, white voids, laid in neat order,
closer observation taught me differently
at your core, brilliant colors initiated the explosion
your joy incites mine
pulsating diamond after diamond
those pointed tails, set on their path
churning colourful trails of tiny diamond debris
as diamond chains radiate to infinity
Copyright statement. This work is published under the CC BY-NC-SA license