Washington DC

a few images of a labyrinth in Washington DC
that i visited on a hot summer day

11th November 2009

three images blended
& faded into each other

as i experiment with different techniques and ideas
i look forward to putting my images to use
and seeing them printed up in yet to be decided formats
for my own exhibition next year
and hopefully for something organised through labyrinth friends
so many opportunities
for labyrinth

Walking on water...

every wave is a path

Looking at this photo (taken at the other end of this week), it seems a peaceful pathway, sea tracks that could be part of a labyrinth. Inspired to go to the beach again, so took a trip in between raindrops - great grey humpback waves crashing in towards me - what a difference! Too dark to take good photos by the time I got there - scratched a labyrinth in the sand, simplest possible, like the one from Garvald (below), and then had to lean into the wind to walk it. Paused and soaked in the salt spray in the centre, and then just made it out before the sea reclaimed it.

Very wet and windy today - everything's howling and rushing - rain scoots down the street, pushed along by an impatient wind, rippling in curtains like the northern lights - but an October storm instead. Thinking of the folks gone to Lismore to build a labyrinth - hoping their crossing is less eventful than crossing the street here, that the seas and the weather remain calm for the work they are about to do.

Inspired by Gail's wonderful colour work to play around with some of the photos I took - only the simplest of tools, but this was a simple colour inversion - the sea around the labyrinth - as well as trackways, this makes me think of contemporary art styles, but also bird tracks I've seen in the snow around the labyrinth - the many different forms of labyrinth, and the many creatures that use it.

How many people does it take to ignore a labyrinth?

Answer: quite a lot. Even while I was making it, a woman sat about 20 feet away and quietly watched when she thought I wasn't looking.

Headed up to the little rise (sort of mini-cliffs) after making and walking the sand labyrinth; just sat and watched the busy-ness of life go by. Lots of young families vying with oystercatchers for what lay under the sand, people walking dogs or themselves. But amazing how many people walked right past the labyrinth but didn't seem to see it.

Watched one young woman walking with friends and dogs get interested - but the group pulled her on, and she moved away.

The tide would be at least another 6 hours before it washed this away, so I hope someone was brave enough to walk it!

Sea Labyrinth

Took a trip down to one of the beaches near here - Seamills. There used to be a grain mill on the shore, but the sea still grinds rocks and cliffs here. Bleak and stony when the tide is in, but an amazing expanse of sand when it goes out towards the headland. Beautiful sunny day - I decided I needed to teach myself how to draw a classic labyrinth, and what better medium than sand? I could always rub it out if I made a mistake...

Of course, the natives had to get involved. (can you bear a bad pun? it's a dog's life...)

Centred

Cloth Labyrinth

Did this for a seasonal festival at a friend's house - she has a biggish floor but this was made to use as much of floor as we could get away with!

Easiest thing seemed to be to stitch the largest white pieces we could find, and then make a looooong strip of bias-cut pieces (so they flexed a bit). Thankfully, this quilt also JUST fits in Sound & Geetam's room - I know because Geetam helped draw out the design (while Sound cooked us a delicious meal - there's support for you!) and we had to carefully pad around the space to do it.

Had we had a suitable groundsheet, this would have been nice to walk outside too, as a small simple labyrinth (Templar / Tarry Town design):

More from Polwarth

around the circle
lines

Polwarth Church of Scotland

Marked on the floor
covered by chairs
hidden

Did you know that the 5 and 7 circuit classical labyrinth was based on a spiral?
(click on the image to see a larger version that changes from spiral to labyrinth)

(This is my first effort drawing a labyrinth on the computer - I learned a few things today)

Star of the Sea

The centre of Whitehaven Labyrinth, Cumbria; a moon-and-star focused piece, with 13 rays from the centre, it's set in a seaside town with a strong maritime and shipping heritage.

When I was needing somewhere to unwind my thoughts at the other end of this year, this was where I came every morning about 7.15am - at first, the sun was just thinking of coming up and a few early birds tweeted at me - sounded a bit shocked at me being there at that time (no more than I was myself...). Then gradually the light grew - and the labyrinth worked its magic, and my worries unravelled themselves.


Bit sad to see that this labyrinth is unravelling itself in a different way: the centre is badly in need of repair (repeated rain has got under the decorative centre and started to lift the pieces), but I can't find how to contact those responsible. Hm, bit more research needed - it would be a shame if this 'millenium project' didn't last the decade.

You might be able to see the damage on the right - it's worse now, whole surface of that piece lifted off.

The slate path, however, seems immune to the rain - defends itself by catching wary walkers and sending them sliding into next week - makes for a very ginger process in the rain!!

Floating

Some years ago I made a quilt for Sound. I always prefer to do something with the back of a quilt - don't like it being 'forgotten' - and for some reason I decided to do a labyrinth. This was waaaaaaaay before I really got interested in them - can't recall how old the quilt is, but it's at least 5 years, probably older. So this was effectively the first labyrinth I ever made - out of the back of a shirt. You'll have to excuse the wonkiness - stitching down every single hem was ... ah ... 'interesting' is probably the politest word I can think of!!

Garvald Labyrinth, 17 Oct 09

The photos of the light and shadow-play at Garvald labyrinth. This effect stayed for no more than an hour, and had moved off by the time we returned early afternoon.

Even so, I'm aware these shots don't really catch what I saw - maybe I just glimpsed something else with my mind's eye - the 'eggs' in the roots, the way the trunk of the tree splayed off into many branches and eggs - it was all so much clearer at the time. But I hope you can get a sense of how walking through this light and shadow was special.



I've put both on, in case one gives a clearer shot of the lines.

flowing

colour, life, flow

21 10 2009

this is the labyrinth through my wide lens
from each of the benches within



this is an altered image
however a bright lit labyrinth looks as if it would be fun

this is a little softer more crayon like
i'm enjoying using colour
and wonder about the meanings


this last image i like even though its a little skew-wiff
it has the feel of drums waiting to be played

boo boom boo boom boo boom

21st October 2009

autumn view

Garvald Labyrinth - Saturday 17 October

Took a trip out with Geetam and Sound to Garvald, East Lothian.

Cammy's church had arranged a very simple, very beautiful labyrinth, chalked on the wooden floorboards of the village hall. I've never experienced a labyrinth with objects incorporated but this was relatively subtle - mostly low objects, so I didn't find them particularly distracting to the eye; just there if you wanted to engage with them.

When we first arrived at the hall, it was late morning, nearly midday, and as I stood at the 'gateway' to the labyrinth the sun was flowing through the diamond-paned leaded window and through the flame of the central candle - amazing shadow-flows! The labyrinth forming the circle of the world, and in the centre, a shadow tree, sunshine through dappled leaves, and the diamonds from the window extending into eggs, deep in the roots.

I'll post photos soon (few teething problems) but they don't quite do justice to the feeling of standing beneath the shade of the "world tree" -so much promise of new life from the labyrinth, and that was before I'd even walked it.

altogether different

guerrilla labyrinths

'on-the-day' advertising

Come Home Through the Labyrinth

A workshop of the Festival of Spirituality and Peace

29 August 2009

Fallen

Leaves on the Path

more colour