Tessellations

Ms. Blaylock

What are Tessellations?

The word 'tessera' in Latin means a small stone cube.

They were used to make up 'tessellata' - the mosaic pictures forming floors in Roman buildings

Tessellations refers to pictures or tiles, mostly in the form of animals and other life forms. It covers the surface of a composition iwithout overlapping or leaving gaps.

A Roman floor mosaic

Tessellations involve using a shape or group of shapes, which are arranged on a composition to create pattern and repetition.

TransformationsbyM C Escher

Henri Matisse uses a lot of pattern

Patterns are everywhere, but not all patterns are tessellations.

Nigerian Adire cloth using a blue dye and starch paste.

M. C. Escher

Self-Portrait

M. C. Escher• Escher was born in

Leeuwarden in Holland on June 17th, 1898.

• Referred to by his initials which stand for Maurits, Cornelis.

• Youngest of 4 brothers.

• The family moved to Arnhem where he grew up and went to high school.

'Self Portrait in Chair' - 1920

M. C. Escher: Tessellation Master

Escher produced '8 Heads' in 1922 - a hint of things to come.

His inspiration…Escher took a boat trip to Spain and went to the Alhambra, an extravagant palace full of pattern.

There, he copied many of the tiling patterns. '8 Heads' - 1922

Alhambra CastleAlhambra consists of palacesbuilt by several rulers, each had his own castle.

One of the most well known example of Muslim architecture.

The Alhambra Palace is afamous example ofMoorish architecture.

Islamic art does not usually use representations of people, but usesgeometric patterns.

The idea behind several of the buildings of Alhambra was to create a Paradise on earth.

Escher copied many of the designs he saw a Alhambra, adding his own flair

M. C. Escher 4 Motifs 1950

Design for Wood Intarsia Panel for Leiden Town Hall, 1940

Tessellation

transitions

by M. C.

Escher

Realism & Tessellations Combined

• Sometimes, Escher would combine realism and tessellations.

• Reptiles is an example of this combination.

'Reptiles' - 1943

Metamorphosis I, 1937

by M. C. Escher

Realism & Tessellation Combined

Cycle, 1938

by M. C. Escher

Realism & Tessellation Combined

Day and Night, 1938 by M. C. Escher

Realism & Tessellation Combined

Escher’s Last Tessellation

• His last tessellation was a solution to a puzzle sent to him by Roger Penrose, the mathematician. Escher solved it and, true to form, changed the angular wood blocks into rounded 'ghosts'.

Penrose 'Ghosts' - 1971

How do you create a successful tessellation?

Begin with a simple geometric shape - the square

Change the shape of one side

Copy this line on the opposite side

Rotate the line and repeat it on the remaining edges

Erase the original shape

Add lines to the inside of the shapes to turn them into pictures.

Add color to enhance your picture.

By repeating your shape you create a tessellated picture

How do you create a more complex tessellation?

Draw a line that separates the two hidden shapes you have found.

Add a few lines that bring out your hidden shapes.

Make four versions of each shape, each version with more detail

The most detailed shape can be changed quite a bit

Make four versions of each shape with more detail

The most detailed shape can be changed quite a bit

Color all of one type of shape the same basic color

scheme

Line up the simplest shape with the most complex along the bottom

Add the next row in the same way

Completed Tessellation