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++Please note, anything below is simply from my research online. I may have got some facts or dates wrong. If this is the case please do get in touch - I am always happy to be corrected!++

Let's take a closer look at the history of this fascinating toy and find out why so many artists still love it today…

Although Rosie Evans (A brilliant mathemetician and also coincidentally my sister!) has done an excellent job writing up about the spirograph workshop for PiForum 2023, I wanted to add my own little blog to say how an outsider saw PiForum!

My Interview with Toy Insider: This Spirograph Artist Brings Childhood Dreams to Adult Reality. The spirograph was first invented in the 1800s to draw spirals with. It was later turned into a toy in the 1960s, and is still popular today. While many of us have likely dabbled with the tool here and there as kids, few of us can say it’s an integral part of our everyday lives. Artist Rachel Evans — affectionately known by the internet as Spirograph Girl — is a part of these few, establishing herself as an artist by using the spirograph as her main tool. 

When we think back to our childhood, the toys that come to mind are almost always those that let us explore our creativity and imagination. The Spirograph is one of these toys. It’s a drawing tool that can help you make beautiful designs by tracing circles. It’s also extremely addictive! Once you start playing with your Spirograph, it’ll be hard to stop. The following article has tips and tricks on how you can get the most out of your Spirograph — no matter what age you are or how old your kit may be. Let’s take a look at some ways in which you can play with this awesome piece of art-making equipment!

Co written with Eva Swanson :) Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a Spirograph Cyclex set of course! That’s just one of the essential items I use to create my designs, and you’ll learn more about it (and my other trusty products) in today’s blog. I’ve always loved spirograph but I enjoy trying as many different art mediums as possible. Over the years I’ve produced work with various sets, which in turn meant new ideas. 

The maths and History behind spirograph

Spirograph is a popular toy that has fascinated people for generations. It consists of a set of plastic gears, a ring, and a set of pens or pencils. By moving the pens or pencils along the ring's edges as it rotates inside the gears, users can create intricate and beautiful designs. The mathematical principles of hypotrochoids and epitrochoids underlie the creation of these designs. In this blog, we will explore these principles and how they relate to the maths of Spirograph.

Good lord this blog is overdue- let's blame ADHD and the pandemic, and not that I just completely forgot to do it until 6 years later! 

Spirograph Math by Karin M Deck: coming soon! 

The Spirograph® has been a popular toy for many decades. A search on the world wide web will result in many sites that discuss the mathematics of a spirograph pattern, and your local toy store most likely has an assortment of spirographs, each with its own special feature. The basic spirograph set includes numerous circular discs and annuli. To construct a spirograph design, a pencil or pen is placed in one of a number of perforations on a disc, and a pattern is traced as the disc rolls around a fixed annulus. There are seemingly endless possibilities of designs to be made, including the designs in Figure 1.