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Full access Art and pattern

Texture speaks: a touch atlas

Build your own atlas of three textures. Explore how changing the neighbours of each tile changes the character of a small composition.

Age
11–13 years
Length
approx. 45 min
Level
Easy
Where you teach
School
Purpose
Educational
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How to run this session

Stages and timing
  1. Support W: frame and grid
  2. Texture W: Waves
  3. Support L: frame and grid
  4. Texture L: Lines
  5. Support D: frame and grid
  6. Texture D: Dots

What gets built

The pupil selects texture to achieve an intended sculptural character.

What it practises
  • Intentional selection of texture.
  • Comparing surfaces and justifying a composition.

Success criteria
  • After building leave the tiles for 3 min and longer if still warm. Inspect contacts and ends visually. For 7 min compare the three textures by sight and, if you wish, touch. Record your own descriptions in the atlas W, L and D fields. Recognition without looking is voluntary and ungraded; swap roles only if both agree.
  • Arrange the same three tiles into a calm or contrasting composition. Change their order, choose an arrangement, sketch it and give it your own title. The tiles remain separate.
  • Describe all three textures and justify the contrast between two in your chosen arrangement. Then predict the effect of D between two blank smooth fields on paper. These are design references: do not build extra tiles or treat the open-grid underside as a smooth surface.

What you need
Filament
PLA
Colours
colour shown in the illustration
Also
3D pen with power supply: 1, Transparent 3D pen mat: 1, Printed templates 1:1: 1, A4 paper: 1, Pencil: 1, School ruler: 1

Files

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Version e4bb61b2-dc62-4148-a107-e4f1e5840181 Updated 2026-10-19

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