Allan McCollum link for shapes

http://www.allanmccollum.net/allanmcnyc/

I just watched an Art21 video about this artist, Allan McCollum. I've been searching for inspiration for the 5th graders sunprint project, and I want them to get the idea of what a stencil should be. This is from his Shapes project, where he has found a way to create millions of distinct shapes through combinations of a variety of corners or tops and bottoms. I think there's a way to incorporate some math ideas here- like how many multiple combinations from a specific set can be created...
I think perhaps there coul be a comparison between shapes and symbols too

Are states like these shapes or symbols? How is that different from symbols like these: