Labyrinth

[changeling]

I decided recently that I wanted to draw a labyrinth in our front yard. It's just a tiled driveway, but since none of the three of us owns a car, it's not being used for anything else.

I've been fascinated by labyrinths for ages. I like the meditativeness of them. There is/was one in Clifton Hill that I've walked several times. For me, they are like a physical descent to/ascent from the underworld.

Last weekend I bought a packet of chalk. Today I designed and drew it out. I began with a Greek design from the back of a coin. I found it at this website; it's the third down on the right (Hera/labyrinth). I had to modify it so it would fit the space AND have large enough paths to be easily walkable. I wound up modifying it quite a bit, and then using Excel to make sure it was all working, since we didn't have any graph paper.



I was going to wait until it was light again to photograph it, but I was amazed at how it seemed to be almost glowing in the dark. It's drawn with chalk, but after I drew the boundaries I went over it again with wet chalk (using up almost the whole 16-stick packet), because chalk that goes on wet doesn't get rained off as easily. I'm hoping it lasts a little while (one of the rare occasions where our drought might be useful?), but I'm keeping the paper design handy in case. And I guess I should probably buy another packet of chalk.

Comments

[dorukai.livejournal.com]

That's so cool!

[muzaken.livejournal.com]

Before we left Melbourne, we used to walk in the Clifton Hill park most days --- the labyrinth is still there - though a little snakey!!

Your version looks ace - nice way to jazz up the driveway ... I want to do something with our saaaaaaaaad verandah in Osaka. Maybe some hanging plants or something ...

[sienamystic.livejournal.com]

How awesome! One of my biggest thrills was getting to see the one in Chartres Cathedral, although I couldn't walk it because there were quite a few chairs in rows over most of it.