Make Art - Geometric Tesselations

A potentially addictive way to pass time creating geometric art. Use scrapes and cover paper, walls or t-shirts once will these cool patterns.

Tessellation is a math term that means a collection of plane figures grouped together to fill a plane with no overlaps or gaps.

Computer backgrounds, wall paper, floor tiles and quilts are all functional examples of tessellations. In nature tessellations can be seen in honeycombs.

1. Use an index card or a small piece of cardstock and cut out a square.

Grab one corner of the paper with your left hand (we will call this the top corner "A"). Now take hold of the corner below it (corner "B") and fold the paper up to the top edge of the paper creating a diagonal crease. You want corner "A" to be sharp. Take hold of the side opposite corner "A" and fold it over making a crease down the edge where you created at the first diagonal fold. Unless your paper began as a perfect square you should have a stripe along the side of the paper. Cut that strip off and unfold the diagonal to reveal your square! 2"-3" is the ideal size.

2. From one side of the square cut out a chunk in any shape.

For your first tessellation try something simple like a simple triangle wedge. Starting at one corner, cut at a long angle toward the middle of the square. From the other corner of the same edge cut at an angle to meet the first cut. This will cut a triangle out of one side of the square.

3. Tape the shape you cut out to a different edge of the square with the flat edges together.

For your first tessellation tape your cut out shape to the opposite edge. Orient your "square" so that the part you cut is on the left and attach the cut out shape straight edge to straight edge to the right side.

4. Trace the shape you created onto a blank piece of paper.

It is best to start by tracing your shape in the middle of the paper. To find the center fold your paper in half vertically (hamburger style) and then in half horizontally (hot dog style), the center of the page is where the creases meet.

5. Continue tracing your shape edge to edge to create a pattern!

Slide your shape across the page and you will see how the edged match and fit together to full the entire page (plane). For a bigger challenge try creating a new tessellation on a new paper by flipping the shape to trace mirror or reflective images but be sure to always flip the same way!

6. Color and enjoy.

Add interest to your tessellation by coloring with crayons, markers or paint. Another fun way to color your tessellation art is to scan the lined image into the computer and use the paint bucket tool of any program to "fill" the shapes!

Did you create a tessellation your particularly proud of? The Gallery at 915 in Fredericksburg, Virginia would love to see it. Scan or photograph your tessellation and send it to The Gallery at 915, 915 Lafayette Blvd, Fredericksburg, VA 22401 or by email to Bair Initiatives at aprilbair@live.com!

Drexel University, Math Forum: What Is a Tessellation, Math Forum
Alan Howard, The Gallery at 915, The Gallery at 915
April Bair, CreARTive Creations!, Bair Initiatives