  We develop a molecular model of non-uniform deformations within the framework
of liquid crystal rubber elasticity. We show that, similarly to the uniform
case, the theory is not sensitive to the molecular details of polymer liquid
crystal involved and the resulting elastic free energy is quite universal. The
result of this work is the general expression for the free energy of
deformations, which combines the effects of large non-symmetric affine strains
in the rubbery network and gradients of curvature deformations of the director
field, $F = \lambda^T (\nabla {n})^2 \lambda $. We derive the molecular
expressions for the elastic constants governing non uniform deformations in the
presence of elastic strains. They also depend on the polymer step length
anisotropy and - most strikingly - have an overall {negative} sense. We
therefore predict that in some circumstances, especially at large elastic
deformations $\lambda$, these new terms may overpower the usual, positive Frank
elastic moduli of the underlying nematic structure, as well as the coupling in
nematic elastomers of uniform relative rotations of the director and the
elastic matrix. In this event highly distorted polydomain textures n(r) would
be favoured.
