INSPIRED by a renowned Spanish architect, a Borders artist has created a mosaic at her home.

Having been a fan of the creations by Antoni Gaudi since her days at art school and a trip to Barcelona, Traquair resident Moy Mackay decided to recreate his designs in her own garden.

Taking particular inspiration from the gardens at Park Güell, Barcelona, Moy began creating her mosaic on some window ledges.

Pleased with how they looked, she turned her eyes to a garden wall where she would use the mosaic as an alternative fixing solution.

And with help from a friend, she was able to transform the wall into a bench structure, before beginning the mosaic project this summer.

She said: “It was possibly one of the biggest projects I have taken on.

“I had originally thought it would be a project I would do with helpers, however, things rarely go to plan when reliant on the weather so apart from some help with the grouting it was pretty much 14-hour days resulting in lots of aches and pains.

“The grouting process left me looking like I had been down the mines and I’m still finding ingrained black grout skin even now.”

Peeblesshire News: Moy MackayMoy Mackay (Image: Moy Mackay)

In order to complete the bench the weather had to stay dry, so Moy raced against the clock, making the most of the summer sunshine.

The project was finished in two weeks ahead of more autumnal rain.

To make her mosaic designs Moy used recycled materials such as broken tiles from Home Basics in Walkerburn, Borders Scrapstore in Selkirk, and The Tile Shop in Galashiels.

Friends of Moy donated broken china and Scrabble tiles were also used to add words of wisdom and affirmations to the wall and bench.

To complete the first part of the mosaic project, Moy used around 20 kilos of black grout.

She added: “I am not finished yet with this project. More mosaic window ledges and door frames are planned along with a mosaic pizza oven/outdoor kitchen area.

“What I am creating here at my home/studio is an art retreat space where I currently have students attending from around the world to learn the art of felt painting – my real job.

“My vision is to offer a beautiful colourful space to welcome students and visitors to which encourages a relaxing and inspiring base for their journey into art and crafts.”