14 Friends

In September of 2016 my tessellation ’14 Friends’ was selected by the City of Waterloo to be stamped into a portion of the Laurel Creek Trail.

Update! (July 2023) I created a revised design in the form of a colouring page that you can print from home. Download it here!

The City of Waterloo has a rich and vibrant culture and, as a main section of our uptown space, this piece of the Laurel Trail will see commuters, families and travellers cross its path.

Tessellations, made popular by the world renowned Graphic Artist M.C. Escher, illustrate incredible worlds and visualize complex mathematical principles. As an art form viewers are constantly finding new points of interest to catch their attention as positive and negative spaces intertwine and slide together creating intricate shapes and stories.

The tessellation’s form in itself represents our community’s juxtaposition of technology, arts, culture andfamily as it gives importance to every aspect and piece of the puzzle.

The Laurel Trail runs adjacent to the Laurel Creek and is part of the Grand River System flowing through and uniting us with our neighbours. Home to many flora, fauna, birds and insects, the Laurel Creek is its own community that flows through our city and, while we may use the trail, we often forget its connection to our home.

The proposed design uses the art of the tessellation while illustrating fourteen living creatures in our Laurel Creek. By pulling out and identifying these animals we bring awareness to the creek and create discussion points as travellers playfully find and identify the shapes within.

As an Educator with two young children of my own, I see how youth are intrigued by discovery. I believE that by having a path double as a ‘look and find’ game, it will raise awareness and a better understanding of our environment and how our spaces exist together in harmony.

The fourteen animals illustrated are:

  1. Eastern Cottontail
  2. Eastern Chipmunk
  3. Red Squirrel
  4. Red Bat
  5. Red Fox
  6. Garter snake
  7. Snapping Turtle
  8. Leopard Frog
  9. White Sucker
  10. Common Carp
  11. Fathead Minnow
  12. Red-bellied Woodpecker
  13. American Robin
  14. Monarch Butterfly

Resources Use:

  • https://www.grandriver.ca/en/our-watershed/resources/Documents/Management_Plans/ManagementPlan_Laurel.pdf
  • https://www.grandriver.ca/en/outdoor-recreation/resources/Documents/Birding_document/Birding_checklist.pdf