Day: December 2, 2024
How Domino Art Inspires People
Domino is a word that has many meanings: the game, the restaurant chain, and the term used to describe the cascading effect of a sequence of events or actions. For Hevesh, it’s a metaphor for how her work inspires and empowers people. Hevesh started creating domino art as a kid, and now she creates elaborate setups for movies, TV shows, and even pop artists. She’s even worked on projects involving hundreds of thousands of dominoes. Hevesh’s intricate creations are the result of a meticulous planning process. She builds each section of her displays separately and then connects them together. To ensure that each element will fall as intended, she often tests her creations in a controlled environment. She films each test, and then slows it down so she can make precise corrections. This allows her to perfect each segment of a display before moving on to the larger layout. And the timing is important—a small misstep can cause a whole set to collapse. Most domino games are played with a double-six set, which has 28 tiles that are shuffled to form the stock or boneyard. Each player then draws seven tiles. The first to place all of their tiles on-edge, with matching pips, wins the game. Some games are blocking games, like matador and chicken foot, while others are scoring games, such as bergen or muggins. Dominoes also offer an opportunity to practice counting and math skills. Dominoes are made of a hard, durable material called clay, glazed to make them waterproof. They have a round, flat surface with a pattern of black or white spots, known as pips. Each end of a domino has an identifying mark that is either painted or inlaid into the clay. The pips help identify each domino in a game and allow the players to keep track of their scores. While modern plastic dominoes are widely available, some collectors prefer a more traditional look. Classic European-style dominoes were made of silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory, or a dark hardwood such as ebony, with contrasting black or white pips. More recently, sets have been made from a variety of other materials, including stone (e.g., marble or granite); metals; ceramic clay; and frosted glass or crystal. The most common dominoes are made of polymer clay, but some manufacturers produce sets in other materials, such as wood, bone, agate, or marble. They are typically more expensive than plastic sets. Some manufacturers have developed a special resin that produces a harder, more durable domino. This type of domino is usually more expensive than other types, but it’s less likely to chip or crack than other types. Hevesh isn’t the only one to use the phrase “domino effect.” In business, it’s often used to describe a situation where a change in one part of an organization causes other changes that can have far-reaching impacts. For example, the introduction of a new product might trigger other changes in the company, such as changes to its distribution network or pricing policies.
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