stepping up

In 2006, after knocking down the hallway walls and then moving the front door to be flush with the front wall instead of set back inside the house, all the front steps had to be built up the depth of a full step. There was a gap of about 2 inches left under the door, and I spent all winter with a draught excluder roll thing, trying to keep out the wind and dust. I couldn't work out the best solution to the problem, then one morning, in mid-June, it was obvious - tile it, then of course, tiling became mosaicing.....

I found some inspiring images of the stairways in San Francisco. http://mosaicartsource.wordpress.com/2006/12/28/mosaic-stairs-san-francisco-golden-gate-heights/

Because my flight of steps is not high, I decided to decorate the treads, not the face as on the SF ones, which climb right up the hillsides. Inspired by the Gaudi benches in Barcelona, my steps feature random broken tiles from the tip, slate pebbles and some not so random bits cut out of some expensive, ex-display tiles.

During the four days it took me to complete the work, the sun beat down and it was really hot. Sadly for me, but luckily for the tiling, I was working in the shade all day long. I had lots of people stop and comment, and my initial concerns that Ménéac was not ready for this, were soon dispelled. Four months later, people still stop and tell me how pretty they are.