Find your Path

    Children’s Museum of Phoenix- West Lawn Public Art project, Phoenix, Arizona.
    2007
    2’ x 40’ (220 pavers)
    mixed media- clay, tile, glass gems, stone
    artist/team with Helen Helwig

    Niki-and-Helen-Stepping-stones-for-Childrens-Museum

    Find you Path is a large, interactive installation made with mosaic stepping stones on concrete pavers. Prior to the museum opening, the artists and community volunteers organized mosaic-making workshops with Phoenix Elementary School students. The stepping stones were placed in an undulating design around mounded earth and trees on the west lawn of the museum complex. Many clay pieces were glazed with a durable red iron oxide treatment to create the look of leather. The artists’ goal was to create a magical path encouraging young and old to explore. The result was an art piece emphasizing the importance of play and discovery at any age.

    The original concept for this site was inspired by dragons, petroglyphs, and the legendary Mayan feathered serpent-god Quetzalcoatl. The large feathered Quetzal-like dragon would have been made of pavers and outlined by the pathway of mosaic stepping stones created by students. Only the stepping stones were approved.