Skip to Main Content

Escher's Edges

Students will learn about artist M. C. Escher and create their own tessellating art in the style of Escher.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Paper
  • Recycled File Folders
  • Tape

Steps

  • Step 1

    Much of M. C. Escher's art was inspired by mathematics. Have students learn about this Dutch artist (1898-1972) and view examples of his work, such as "Relativity" and "Ascending and Descending," which depict some of his notable "impossible" constructions. Then have them look at some of his tessellation works such as "Two Intersecting Planes," "Day and Night," and others. "Tessellating" means covering a plane with one or a few congruent figures without gaps or overlaps. Notice how all the figures in Escher's tessellations repeat and interlock with each other.

  • Step 2

    Have students create a work of tessellating art. They start by sketching a plan and then deciding what shape they would use for their tessellation. They can create the stencil by drawing their multifaceted shape on thin cardboard or a recycled file folder and then cutting it out.

  • Step 3

    To use that stencil to form the connecting shapes, students will apply a thick layer of oil pastels around the stencil edges. Then they will place the stencil in position on the paper and use their finger or a tissue to rub the color from the outer stencil edge to the open area inside the stencil.

  • Step 4

    They could cut out multiple stencils (using the same shape) so each color has its own stencil. Or they might decide to reuse the stencil so the colors gently blend from prior color applications to the boldest rub-down to form a new color.

Standards

ARTS: Speculate about processes an artist uses to create a work of art.

ARTS: Explore and invent art-making techniques and approaches.

MATH: Create models that demonstrate math concepts and attend to precision.

Adaptations

In 1922 Escher visited the Alhambra palace and fortress in Spain, one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture. He noticed the patterns of the tiling, and this inspired his tessellation work. Have students research this palace, whose construction began in 1238 and which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Escher was inspired by mathematics. Have students research other artists and musicians who incorporated mathematical concepts into their work such as Leonardo da Vinci who incorporated the golden ratio into his work and Johann Sebastian Bach whose music contains mathematical patterns and structures.