Today we are going to learn about Islamic Tile Art. Islamic is a word to describe people and cultures that are primarily part of the Muslim religion. Islamic art often avoids using figurative images and instead focuses on create art using geometric patterns.

Islamic Tile Artwork

In Islamic cultures there is a tradition of producing and using tiles to decorate their important buildings. The tiles are usually created out of ceramics and come in a variety of colors.

Often times there are large designs that are created using many small tiles that fit together and create beautiful patterns.

The designs of the tiles are often based on radial symmetry. This means that it is the same on all sides and has a center point. The design is mirrored from top to bottom as well as from side to side.

There are many different ways to create radial symmetry. All that matters is that is the same both top to bottom as well as left to right.

Here are some examples of students artwork. Can you see the symmetry of each tile?