While I was developing a new technique to make fractal patterns out of clay, I decided to come up with some basic templates. I brought these templates to my elementary school students, and they came up with some beautiful designs. According to my motto: freedom within structure, the students thrived realizing that complex designs can be built from simple shapes. I handed out the square template made of repeating triangles, and told them to create a very simple design in one of the triangles. Then I asked them to repeat the patten in each of the triangles until they got too small.