Though tessellations can be fun, with great connections to math and geometry, they can become tedious and mechanical. By expanding the techniques beyond the basic square and rudimentary techniques, life can be breathed back into the work and even offer opportunities for expression.
Most people work with just squares, but did you know many of the same techniques work just as well with rectangles? We have been told to "line up the corners," but in actuality, for many techniques, you don't have to. Experimentation is something we can do more of in our classes. It's this trial and error that fuels STEAM education in art.
For example, the Translation method is the most common for tessellations. Cut a square from one corner to an adjacent corner, pull it across and tape it down. Do we really have to match up those corners? Try it, trace it, and see what happens. You'll be amazed that the "conservation of shape" we are demonstrating also means that the shapes do continue to tessellate! Try it on a scrap of copy paper.
Most people work with just squares, but did you know many of the same techniques work just as well with rectangles? We have been told to "line up the corners," but in actuality, for many techniques, you don't have to. Experimentation is something we can do more of in our classes. It's this trial and error that fuels STEAM education in art.
For example, the Translation method is the most common for tessellations. Cut a square from one corner to an adjacent corner, pull it across and tape it down. Do we really have to match up those corners? Try it, trace it, and see what happens. You'll be amazed that the "conservation of shape" we are demonstrating also means that the shapes do continue to tessellate! Try it on a scrap of copy paper.
The issue is that so often we fall back on a grid to regularly tessellate our figures. This forces constraints on the shapes that are unnecessary and result in a narrow range of potential figures of butteflies, elephant heads, sting rays, and face profiles.
If we can pull back from the "corner-to-corner" restrictions, we end up with many more Escher-like possibilities! Let go of the grid with these new figures, and trace one shape in the middle of the page, and continue to surround it with more figures. In this way we end up with a more organic composition that looks a lot like art and less like wrapping paper.
The reflection technique (where you flip your cut shape before re-attaching it) results in more dynamic figures too. Again, corners do not need to match up for it to work. Ones does need to flip the shape to make the tessellation work, and it's a bit like a challenging puzzle at first, but it will work and be less stagnant.
If we can pull back from the "corner-to-corner" restrictions, we end up with many more Escher-like possibilities! Let go of the grid with these new figures, and trace one shape in the middle of the page, and continue to surround it with more figures. In this way we end up with a more organic composition that looks a lot like art and less like wrapping paper.
The reflection technique (where you flip your cut shape before re-attaching it) results in more dynamic figures too. Again, corners do not need to match up for it to work. Ones does need to flip the shape to make the tessellation work, and it's a bit like a challenging puzzle at first, but it will work and be less stagnant.
You can go further with parallelograms, hexagons, triangles of all kinds. The rotation technique produces a broad array of delightful organic shapes. I have created a series of tutorial videos to show to many more possibilities to tessellations. You can see them all HERE.
If in the past, you have limited your students to making one, or a small handful of tessellations, I'd encourage you to have them make 10 in each technique, so when they are done, they truly know how to make tessellations, and they will have a large pile to sort through. They should look at all their shapes against a contrasting background so the contours really pop. Turn the shape, look at it from the front and back, share their shapes with peers for ideas and come up with several possibilities. Draw right on the shapes, and focus on whole figures as opposed to partial objects.
If in the past, you have limited your students to making one, or a small handful of tessellations, I'd encourage you to have them make 10 in each technique, so when they are done, they truly know how to make tessellations, and they will have a large pile to sort through. They should look at all their shapes against a contrasting background so the contours really pop. Turn the shape, look at it from the front and back, share their shapes with peers for ideas and come up with several possibilities. Draw right on the shapes, and focus on whole figures as opposed to partial objects.
When a larger selection has been created, weed out the weaker figures for stronger ones. When a choice has to be made, ask, "which figure can you say has a personal connection to who you are?" If it is a choice between a bird and a turtle; a bird might be considered more adventurous, while a turtle is more of an introvert. Which one is better suited to the artist who made it? This should be the final decision maker.
In my examples, I used very heavy water color paper, watercolors, and ink. Students worked in pencil first, then pen, and finished with watercolor in three steps.
1. Give everything a light color.
2. Add shadows and highlights to each.
3. Add textures and patterns where appropriate.
You can see that by letting go of the grid, we have a very dynamic selection of artwork.
In my examples, I used very heavy water color paper, watercolors, and ink. Students worked in pencil first, then pen, and finished with watercolor in three steps.
1. Give everything a light color.
2. Add shadows and highlights to each.
3. Add textures and patterns where appropriate.
You can see that by letting go of the grid, we have a very dynamic selection of artwork.
More lessons and published resources can be found at http://www.FirehousePublications.com
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