Chris was puzzled. How interesting would his vase be if he could use only one of three shapes to design its surface? He wondered if using several different patterns would create a more appealing design while still producing a tessellation. Chris decided to ask his aunt. She worked as a museum curator and had mentioned her interest in the geometric nature of art more than once.

Fortunately, Chris's aunt was able to email him pictures of several famous works of art representing tessellations. The patterns were much more complex than what Chris found in his home. See if you can identify the shapes that appear in each example of tessellations. Click the image to check your answer.

Chris was relieved. He even sketched a tessellation that he thought he might use on one of his vases. Click the image below to confirm the shapes that Chris used to create a tessellation.

The next morning on his way out the door, Chris noticed how his front porch was paved and realized that not all tessellations are made of polygons. Here was a curved shape repeated over and over again with no gaps.