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Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

The Official Website of Betty Edwards
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The Alhambra in Granada, Spain

Did Artists Lead The Way In Mathematics?

May 14, 2017

Decades ago, on a working visit to Spain, I visited the Alhambra, the Moorish complex of palaces in Spain, mainly built in the 14th century near Granada.  I recall feeling overwhelmed by the beauty of the tilework, by the colors and the seemingly infinite variety of interlocking patterns. 

Author Henry Adams, in this article, puts it well:  that the tilework “dazzles the eye in a hypnotic way that’s strangely blissful.”  Equally dazzling, as Adams points out, is the mathematical reasoning that underlies the tile artists’ designs.  The author poses an interesting question:  Did Artists Lead The Way In Mathematics?

~ Betty Edwards  

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Betty's Blog

Occasional writings, links, and items of interest from and about Dr. Betty Edwards, author of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain®.


  • January 2025
    • Jan 22, 2025 Happy National Handwriting Day! Jan 22, 2025
  • June 2024
    • Jun 24, 2024 Around the World: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Jun 24, 2024
  • February 2024
    • Feb 23, 2024 The Cognitive Benefits of Handwriting: How It Boosts Memory and Learning Feb 23, 2024
  • January 2024
    • Jan 27, 2024 Some Thoughts from Iain McGilchrist on "The Divided Brain" Jan 27, 2024
  • February 2023
    • Feb 21, 2023 The Reading Wars: What Are the Basic Skills of Reading and Who Gets to Say What They Are? Feb 21, 2023
  • September 2022
    • Sep 27, 2022 Drawing Is A Great Way To Slow Down & Appreciate The World Around Us Sep 27, 2022
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    • Jun 20, 2022 New Korean Edition of Drawing on the Dominant Eye! Jun 20, 2022
    • Jun 4, 2022 The Wonder of Color Jun 4, 2022
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  • December 2021
    • Dec 30, 2021 Happy New Year 2022! Dec 30, 2021
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    • Nov 2, 2021 New in Paperback! Drawing on the Dominant Eye Nov 2, 2021
  • October 2021
    • Oct 14, 2021 A Conversation with Paola Vojnovic, Art Historian in Florence Oct 14, 2021
  • March 2021
    • Mar 5, 2021 New: 3-Day DRSB Color and Painting Workshops have gone Virtual! Mar 5, 2021
  • February 2021
    • Feb 22, 2021 Betty Says:  You Can Learn to Draw Without Leaving Home! Feb 22, 2021
  • January 2021
    • Jan 21, 2021 It's National Handwriting Day! January 23, 2021 Jan 21, 2021
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    • Oct 24, 2020 Drawing on the Dominant Eye: In Bookstores November 10, 2020 Oct 24, 2020
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    • Sep 21, 2020 Great Wave of Hokusai Drawings at the British Museum Sep 21, 2020
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    • Jun 25, 2020 Betty's New Book To Be Published November 10, 2020! Drawing on the Dominant Eye Jun 25, 2020
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    • May 3, 2020 Drawing Can Help Get You Through Tough Times May 3, 2020
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    • Apr 8, 2020 The Art of Handwriting Apr 8, 2020
    • Apr 5, 2020 A Message From Betty Edwards Apr 5, 2020
    • Apr 1, 2020 DRSB Workshops Go Virtual! Apr 1, 2020
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    • Jan 11, 2020 How Making Art Helps Your Brain Jan 11, 2020
    • Jan 7, 2020 John Singer Sargent's Portraits at the Morgan Library, NYC Jan 7, 2020
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    • Oct 30, 2019 From a Reader in Ukraine Oct 30, 2019
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    • Apr 2, 2019 Is Handwriting Dead?  Hardly.  We need it now more than ever. Apr 2, 2019
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    • Mar 18, 2019 WHY DRAWING NEEDS TO BE A CURRICULUM ESSENTIAL Mar 18, 2019
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    • Feb 27, 2019 The Extraordinary Art of Book Covers Feb 27, 2019
    • Feb 18, 2019 In Defense of Cursive Handwriting! Feb 18, 2019
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    • Dec 16, 2018 A Recommended Full-Palette of Pigments Dec 16, 2018
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    • Sep 3, 2018 The Beauty and Power of Cursive Handwriting Sep 3, 2018
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    • Aug 18, 2018 Our Complex and Remarkable Divided Brains Aug 18, 2018
    • Aug 9, 2018 What Does Immersing Yourself in a Book Do to Your Brain? Aug 9, 2018
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    • May 23, 2018 51 Benefits of Arts Education for Kids May 23, 2018
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    • Jan 15, 2018 A Reader Sees the World with a New Perspective Jan 15, 2018
    • Jan 14, 2018 The Benefits of Art Therapy for Cancer Patients Jan 14, 2018
    • Jan 2, 2018 The Resilience of Art and Artists Jan 2, 2018
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    • Dec 21, 2017 The Little-Known Reason Red and Green are the Colors of Christmas Dec 21, 2017
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    • Nov 18, 2017 Why Can't Drawing Skills Be Part of a Medical Education? Nov 18, 2017
    • Nov 7, 2017 Michelangelo at the Met: See It If You Can! Nov 7, 2017
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    • Oct 22, 2017 An Artist, Chef, and DRSB Student Oct 22, 2017
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    • Jul 18, 2017 Seeing the World Through a Different Lens Jul 18, 2017
    • Jul 15, 2017 How to Find the Best Drawing Pencil Jul 15, 2017
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    • May 21, 2017 Before-and-After Drawings from an Artist in Costa Rica May 21, 2017
    • May 14, 2017 Did Artists Lead The Way In Mathematics? May 14, 2017
    • May 14, 2017 Medieval Doodles! May 14, 2017
    • May 1, 2017 Traveling? Bring Your Sketchbook! May 1, 2017
  • April 2017
    • Apr 30, 2017 Drawing Basics: Drawing Without Symbols on the Right Side of the Brain Apr 30, 2017
    • Apr 28, 2017 The Magic of "Before" and "After" Apr 28, 2017
    • Apr 20, 2017 #5 on the List of 20 Best Creativity Books (To Help You Generate Useful Ideas) Apr 20, 2017
    • Apr 15, 2017 Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain...in China! Apr 15, 2017
  • March 2017
    • Mar 15, 2017 How To Get The Brain To Like Art Mar 15, 2017
  • February 2017
    • Feb 9, 2017 Why we fall for forgeries, even when the piece itself doesn't pass the eyeball test. Feb 9, 2017
    • Feb 7, 2017 Betty's Blog: #9 in the Top 25 Drawing Blogs on the Web! Feb 7, 2017
  • January 2017
    • Jan 25, 2017 Profile Drawing: Brian Bomeisler, drawn by Betty Edwards in 1980 Jan 25, 2017
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    • Nov 6, 2016 An Update From A Former Student Nov 6, 2016
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    • Oct 10, 2016 Exhibition at the British Museum: French Portrait Drawings Oct 10, 2016
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    • Aug 16, 2016 Are Replicas Changing the Way We Experience Art? Aug 16, 2016
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    • Jun 13, 2016 “Artists have the job of concentrating experience, not just letting everything rush past, but summing things up contemplatively.”–Katharina Fritsch Jun 13, 2016
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    • Jun 3, 2016 The Artistry of a Great Chef: Jacques Pépin Jun 3, 2016
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    • May 6, 2016 Better Aging Through Practice, Practice, Practice..of Drawing! May 6, 2016
  • April 2016
    • Apr 23, 2016 The Power of a Sketchbook Apr 23, 2016
    • Apr 21, 2016 What's Lost As Handwriting Fades Apr 21, 2016
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    • Mar 23, 2016 At What Age Can You Teach A Child The DRSB Method? Mar 23, 2016
    • Mar 22, 2016 What We Do (And Don't) Know About Left-Handedness Mar 22, 2016
    • Mar 22, 2016 Drawing Without Symbols On the Right Side of the Brain Mar 22, 2016
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  • February 2016
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