Tessellations

Seamless mosaics formed of repeating shapes are known as tessellations, a fascinating blend of mathematics and art. The word 'tessera' in latin means a small stone cube. They were used to make up 'tessellata' - the mosaic pictures forming floors and tilings in Roman buildings. The word tessellations has become more specialised and is used to refer to pictures or tiles, mostly in the form of animals and other life forms, which cover the surface of a plane in a symmetrical way without overlapping or leaving gaps.