ALTERNATIVE Tessellations

THIS INTERACTIVE PROGRAM online allowed us to generate other EXQUISITE TESSELLATION MONOTILES, which are in the same family as the "hat": 

The two new monotile shapes

on the CNC computer screen

So Adam CNCed two alternative tessellation shapes from stiff foam at Quelab on June 5, 2025, like he did before with the conventional "hat" shape:

The idea is to pass out the stiff foam monotiles, ask people to "gouge" designs in them with ball point pens -- and then piece them together to make a collaborative print, like the ones we made in Taos:

PRINTERS PLANET TAOS 2025 --

 FOAM TESSELLATION PRINTS

The collaborative tessellation print

we made in Taos

ALTERNATIVE MONOTILE 2

VCarve file: 

•  monotile2.TAP (8.30 KB)
• 30 degree bit
• 6.5 inches at the widest

This YouTube  -- Aperiodic monotile animation -- shows how the "hat" shape easily morphs into other different shapes that tessellate as well:

download: monotile2.SVG (1.29 KB)

After generating the new tessellation shape, I laser cut several small pieces from PAPER, and pieced them together -- to ensure that they tessellated:

I laser cut the above shape from paper at Quelab to ensure that it would tessellate:

• Speed 20
• Power 80

The  CNCed stiff foam pieces

also tessellated well

ALTERNATIVE MONOTILE 3

"SPECTRE"

VCarve file:

•   monotile3.TAP (407.22 KB)
• 30 degree bit
• 6 inches at the widest

download: monotile3.SVG (1.42 KB)

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IN PRACTICE

ICONIK COFFEE

The test is what happens in the real world. I "gouged" a tessellation tile at Iconik Coffee in Santa Fe on June 6th, 2025, right before I went across the street for the opening of the Cuban printmakers at the ARTES DE CUBA gallery.

I imagined passing the stiff foam tessellation tiles

to those in the coffee house

to make a casual print

I practiced with a drawing first

Stiff tessellation tile, ball point pens,

coffee and a scone --

ready to work

Not a masterpiece,

but I did gouge into the stiff foam

with a ball point pen

I made a pencil rubbing

to see what the printed image might look like

    QUELAB

I printed the tessellation tiles at Quelab, with a Tortilla Press, on June 8th:

I had two tessellation tiles to print

Inking

I printed with an Adjustable Tortilla Press,

like we did in Taos

The stiff foam plate

and the print

The print came out better than I expected

I also drew from a live model onto the stiff foam with a ball point pen, at the Safe House Distilling Company on June 6th, during the downtown Albuquerque Art Walk June 2025, organized by Ben Harrison.  I only made the last 20 minutes of the drawing session, but that was enough to gouge the image of the model into the stiff foam:

The stiff foam plate

and the print

Again, the print came out better than I expected

The rubbings did not give a good idea

of what the final relief print would look like

UNM

I talked to Adam Berman at the University of New Mexico printmaking department, and showed him my tessellation project. Then he carved a quick tile using a Power Grip knife:

Adam Berman carving the stiff foam tessellation tile

The finished tile

The Portable tessellation kit --

but without Tortilla Press and materials for printing

• Adam said that we could do intaglio printing also with these tiles (with enough cushion), and collagraph printing as well.