The Art of Dominoes
A domino is a flat, thumbsized rectangular piece of wood or ivory, bearing from one to six pips or dots (the number of spots on a domino is called its suit): 28 such pieces make up a complete set. A domino may have a blank face or it may be identically patterned on both sides. When played with, dominoes are arranged on edge in long lines and then tipped over. This causes the next domino in line to tip over, and so on until all of the dominoes have fallen. Complex designs can be made using dominoes, and many different games can be played with them. The word and the game have inspired a lot of popular culture, including movies, TV shows, and even musicals.
Dominoes can also be used to create amazing art installations. Artist Lily Hevesh has created stunning domino setups for movies, television shows, and events—including an album launch for Katy Perry. Her YouTube channel, Hevesh5, has more than 2 million subscribers. Hevesh has been playing with dominoes since she was 9 years old, and she has honed her skills over the years to create some truly incredible artworks. She begins each project with test versions of each section. Then she assembles the sections into larger, 3-D structures. She then adds flat arrangements, finally creating the lines of dominoes that connect all of the sections together.
Throughout her process, Hevesh makes sure to keep in mind the laws of physics. The most important one is gravity. “When a domino is standing upright, it’s lifting against the pull of gravity,” explains physicist Stephen Morris. “This gives the domino potential energy.” When the domino falls, most of this energy is converted to kinetic energy, which causes other dominoes to fall.”
The word domino comes from the Latin dominica, meaning “little dominion” or “small rule,” which in turn translates to “small authority.” It is believed that the earliest use of the word was to denote a small garment worn with another garment, such as a cape, over a priest’s surplice. The term is now most often used to refer to a game in which players place domino pieces end to end to form a line that is then tipped over.
There are countless ways to play domino, but the most basic is to set up a row of dominoes and then knock them over. Then, you can set up other rows and have fun seeing how they connect. Whether you’re using domino as an artistic medium or playing a traditional game, the key is to remember that each scene domino isn’t effective by itself but is only powerful when combined with other scenes. In a story, this means that each scene must build tension and add context to the plot as a whole. Without these scene dominoes, the plot can be choppy and disjointed. To avoid this, try making detailed outlines of your plot ahead of time, or use a tool like Scrivener to help you organize your ideas.