MOSAIC ART KIT
A mosaic art kit which includes a plurality of design element pairs. Each design element pair includes a pie-shaped design element having two linear sides with a convex arcuate connective side and a complementary design element having two linear sides with a concave arcuate connective side. When the connective sides are engaged, the pie-shaped design element and the complementary design element form a square with the connective sides forming a quarter of a circle with the origin of the circle being one corner of the square and the beginning and end points of the connective sides being in opposed corners of the square.
The present invention relates to an art kit having a plurality of design elements that can be selectively arranged to form a mosaic.
BACKGROUNDU.S. Pat. No. 4,993,984 (Matarese) is an example of a mosaic art kit. It consists of a mounting board and a plurality of design elements in the form of equilateral triangles.
SUMMARYThere is provided a mosaic art kit which includes a plurality of design element pairs, Each design element pair includes a pie-shaped design element having two linear sides with a convex arcuate connective side and a complementary design element having two linear sides with a concave arcuate connective side. When the connective sides are engaged, the pie-shaped design element and the complementary design element form a square with the connective sides forming a quarter of a circle with the origin of the circle being one corner of the square and the beginning and end points of the connective sides being in opposed corners of the square.
These and other features will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:
A mosaic art kit generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to
Structure and Relationship of Parts:
Referring to
Operation:
As illustrated by FIGS. 1 and 3-9, any arrangement of the design element pairs 12 mosaic art kit 10 is possible. Pie-shaped design elements A and complementary design elements A′ can be organized in an almost limitless number of variations, limited only by one's imagination, as the various figures are intended to illustrate. Mosaic art kit 10 provides a means for creative expression and reconfigurable art. In addition, mosaic art kit 10 may be used for producing aesthetic designs that can later be used for clothing or other purposes. With some added instructions mosaic art kit 10 could also be used for games, puzzles, math education and meditative and wellness activities, to name a few example uses.
Variations:
Mosaic art kit 10 does not require a mounting board 30. The pieces may be laid out on a bed or on a table. Mosaic art kit 10 can also be placed into computer software so the design elements can be manipulated to form mosaic designs using a computer. If a mounting board is used, it is preferred that each design element be attached to the mounting board. There are numerous ways in which this can be done. U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,984 (Matarese) uses an interlock system with first interlock members on the design elements with interlock with second interlock members on the mounting board. The design elements may attach magnetically to the mounting board. The design elements may attach with tape fasteners to the mounting board. The design elements may attach with static electricity to the mounting board. The design elements may be made of felt so that they can attach to a felt mounting board. The design elements and the mounting board can be made from materials that attach to each other through adhesion. For bath toys, the design elements can adhere to the mounting board using a thin layer of water.
In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiments without departing from the scope of the Claims.
Claims
1. A mosaic art kit, comprising:
- a plurality of design element pairs, each design element pair including a pie-shaped design element having two linear sides with a convex arcuate connective side and a complementary design element having two linear sides with a concave arcuate connective side, when the connective sides are engaged, the pie-shaped design element and the complementary design element form a square with the connective sides forming a quarter of a circle with the origin of the circle being one corner of the square and the beginning and end points of the connective sides being in opposed corners of the square.
2. The mosaic art kit of claim 1, wherein each square formed of design element pairs is of a different size.
3. The mosaic art kit of claim 2, wherein each square formed of design element pairs is progressively larger by a set mathematical relationship.
4. The mosaic art kit of claim 3, wherein the set mathematical relationship is a factor of 1.618.
5. The mosaic art kit of claim 1, wherein each square is formed of design element pairs is coloured, with a variety of colours being represented in the plurality of design element pairs.
6. The mosaic art kit of claim 1, wherein each design element includes means for attaching to a mounting surface.
7. The mosaic art kit of claim 6, wherein each design element magnetically attaches to the mounting surface.
8. The mosaic art kit of claim 6, wherein each design element attaches with a tape fastener to the mounting surface.
9. The mosaic art kit of claim 6, wherein each design element attaches with static electricity to the mounting surface.
10. The mosaic art kit of claim 6, wherein each design element is of felt and attaches to a felt mounting surface.
11. The mosaic art kit of claim 6, wherein each design element attaches through adhesion between materials to the mounting surface.
12. The mosaic art kit of claim 1, in computer software for manipulation to form art designs using a computer.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 17, 2008
Publication Date: Jul 17, 2008
Inventor: Michael Cenkner (Edmonton)
Application Number: 12/015,577
International Classification: A63H 33/06 (20060101);