February 2, 2021 | Clara Buckley
While home learning, students in Courageous had the opportunity to explore tessellations in a new, engaging way.
Before Christmas, students designed and made their own tessellations shapes that fit together in a repeating pattern with no gaps or overlaps! Student learned of the art of M.C. Escher and his love of tessellations inspired by Islamic art in southern Spain. One of Escher’s most famous pieces is named Metamorphosis II – a word we’d heard before in science.
During a Zoom art class, students explored an online program that helps you create your own metamorphosis tessellation. This technology allowed students to take risks in their designs, creating more complicated shapes than they could have cut from paper. Students experimented with the many design options available, knowing the undo button was only a click away.
We couldn’t keep our delight to ourselves! Students eagerly asked to show their classmates the results and we celebrated together. We recognized beauty in the different shapes and colors chosen or created by the students and manipulated by the computer. Students proudly saved their work and several printed the art at home or school. An inspiring and joyful conclusion to our tessellation project.