I have always been intrigued by the artwork of M.C. Escher. One of his better-known works (Reptiles, M.C. Escher, March 1943) depicts a series of lizards marching in a circle (figure 1). In the late 80s, I found a book in which was a reproduction of Escher’s notebook describing what he called tessellating shapes. I was hooked and began to use his techniques to create my own tessellating shapes.

In order to tessellate, a shape must fill a two-dimensional surface without overlapping and without leaving gaps. Many common shapes tessellate — squares; rectangles; triangles; trapezoids; some hexagons – the trick is to find a shape that both tessellates and is representative of some kind of creature.

 Figure 1: Reptiles, Escher, 1943

Around 2002, a colleague who saw my interest in Escher suggested that I should try adapting one of my designs for quilting. That started my journey into the world of quilting.

To date, I have committed to fabric approximately twelve tessellating designs, and I easily have twice that number of designs on paper that have yet to be realized. I love the design phase of quilting more than any other phase.

I have made several of my designs into quilt patterns that I sell. These are not for the faint of heart, nor for the beginner quilter. It is a wonderful feeling to see a quilt made from one of my designs. Recently, I have become enthralled with freezer-paper piecing, and I am currently in the process of converting my patterns for freezer-paper piecing.

Bart will have some patterns for sale – cash or credit cards.
Design shop: https://www.bonanza.com/booths/quiltessell_designs?fref=80irlAM
Or search for @quiltesselldesigns on FaceBook