Artist Portrait and Artwork M. C. Escher Artist Portrait and Artwork

Begin with the 3x3 square (seen in blue here) Begin with the 3x3 square (seen in blue here). With your pencil, draw a line from the top left corner to the top right corner (seen in red here). It should be a simple design that you can cut out in one piece. It shouldn't go lower than 1/4 of the way down the square. It may be wavy or angular, but DO NOT make it too detailed or small.

Using your scissors, cut along the line you just drew Using your scissors, cut along the line you just drew. Make sure your cutout goes from corner to corner and comes out in one whole piece.

Take the piece you just cut and slide it directly down so it now touches the bottom of your square. DO NOT ROTATE THE PIECE!!! The mathematical term for this transfer of the cutout without rotation is called Translation.

Tape the piece to the bottom of the square. There should be no overlap Tape the piece to the bottom of the square. There should be no overlap. Simply push the edge of the shape against the bottom edge of the square and secure with tape. Use more tape to reinforce the seam but make sure no tape overlaps the edge of the shape.

You will now repeat the translation process you just completed but this time moving the left side to the right. Begin by using your pencil to draw a line from the top left corner to the bottom left corner (seen in green here). It should be a simple design that you can cut out in one piece. It shouldn't go beyond 1/4 of the square. It may be wavy or angular, but DO NOT make it too detailed or small.

Using your scissors, cut along the line you just drew Using your scissors, cut along the line you just drew. Make sure your cutout goes from top corner to bottom corner and comes out in one whole piece. Take the piece you just cut from the left and and slide it directly across to the right so it now touches the right side of your square. DO NOT ROTATE THE PIECE!!! Secure with tape as you did before, matching the sides without overlap and taping.

Place your new shape template in the center of your paper and carefully trace. Shift your template up so that the top line of the shape you just traced is now the bottom line of your template. Continue this process until your paper is full.

Trace your pencil with black marker then rotate your paper around until you find a picture. Add detail to make your tessellation look like the picture you see. Add the same detail to each tessellation so they are identical. If you do not find an object in your tessellation, you may add a design, but it must be identical in every tessellation.

Add color to your tessellation and mount when complete.