Starbuckyball (artwork)
Starbuckyball Coffee cup sleeves, 18 in 2017

This is a sphere created using 60 coffee cup sleeves connected at their corners using split-pin fasteners. The underlying polyhedral form is the icosidodecahedron.

Background and Inspiration

I had been investigating building with squares and rectangles connected at their corners and driving from Michigan to the Bridges conference in Baltimore. The fastest route is along part of the Ohio turnpike. About two hours from home is a rest area with a Starbucks. While waiting for a coffee, I asked Could I take a few extra coffee sleeves for an art project?
Yes. the worker said.
How many can I take?
As many as you like.
This many? I said indicating the length of my forearm.
Sure
And that is one way to acquire 60 identical coffee sleeves!

I put this together while doing laundry at our conference hotel.

The first step is to punch holes in each of the four corners of the coffee sleeves.
The next step is to join groups of five pieces to make a pentagonal unit using split pin brad fasteners.
Pentagonal units are joined.
A spherical form emerges as more pentagonal units are added.
Almost complete.

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