Tessellation TimeM.C. Escher

Lesson By:George Canfield

Jocelyne Schneider

Dissecting Tessellations!Guided vocabulary, write these down!

TessellationRepetition

PatternModern Artist

Symmetry

So… What is a Tessellation?

A tessellation is an arrangement of closed shapes put together,

completely covering an area without any overlaps.

Tessellations show repetition by taking

a shape and repeating it in a

sequence, forming a pattern.

A Brief History on Tessellations Tessellations have been around for

centuries, originating in the mathematical world.

They were first documented in 1619 by Johannes Kepler.

They were used largely for tile designs for floors, walls, and even ceilings!

Later in the early 1900’s, tessellations entered the art world by M.C. Escher.

M.C. Escher

Escher is a modern artist, who veered away

from the traditional subject matter of

realism, heading towards more abstract and expressionistic art.

His interest in mathematics inspired

him to create his famous tessellations.

1898-1972Dutch Artist

Lions, 1925Escher’s 1st

tessellationprinted in gold & silver on silk

Regular Division of the Plane with Birds,1949

Wood Engraving

M.C. Escher’s Symmetry Gallery

M.C. Escher’s Symmetry Gallery

Studio Time!1. Cut your own design in the

construction paper. This will be your template for your pattern.

2. Place this template on your paper, starting in the upper left corner.

3. Trace the template.4. Move it to the right and repeat,

going row by row.5. Color it in!

We Challenge YOU!Instead of a basic shape, we challenge

you to create an animal or another object for a tessellation template.

Think about M.C. Escher and his own tessellations.

Are you up for the challenge?

Further ResourcesCheck out these other websites!

http://www.mcescher.com/http://users.rcn.com/ziring/escher_bio.htmhttp://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/escher_mc.html

http://eschergallery.com/gallery.htmlhttp://www.mcescher.net/

BibliographyEscher, M.C. (n.d.). Pictures of M.C. Escher's work. Retrieved from

http://www.mcescher.com/Gallery/gallery.htm  Math Academy Online, Initials. (1997). The Mathematical Art of

M.C. Escher. Retrieved from http://www.mathacademy.com/pr/minitext/escher/

Modern Art. Dictionary.com. Retrieved February 10, 2011,  Stereo pictures revolution. (2008). Retrieved from

http://murdamw.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/m-c-escher/  The M.C. Escher Company B.V. (n.d.). M.C. Escher: the official

website. Retrieved from http://www.mcescher.com/