Semaphore

A field of right triangles, each one rotated to a different orientation. From a distance the pattern reads as steady texture. Up close, every triangle is pointing a different way - order at the top level, drift at the piece level.

The form has roots in quilt patchwork, mosaic floors, and the diagonal half-tiles of Islamic and Roman pavement. A right triangle is one of the most efficient shapes for filling a surface, and rotating it is one of the oldest ways of breaking the monotony of a strict grid.

At architectural scale the pattern works as paving or as a screen. At jewelry scale a small cluster of triangles becomes the silhouette of a pendant - the controlled randomness compressed into a single piece of cut metal.