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travelling labyrinth aka dotty
Inspired by the fabric labyrinth at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco I made my own. Sewing two 12ft x 9ft canvas covers together, creating a 24ft x 18ft one. Big enough to make a walkable five path labyrinth with ample space to experience the wander along the path.
dotty
Dotty is the name of the company who make these canvas drop clothes, they’re slip-resistant due to the dotty backing.
I decided to make a five path labyrinth rather than a seven path one due to the size of the canvas, so that there would still be enough room to walk freely without being too restricted. A three path seemed too small, preventing the space to experience the sensation of the back and forth rhythm.
I grappled with making it a basic labyrinth shape, or adding artistic marks and colours. Allowing the stitches where we sewed the two pieces together to be not only seen, but part of the story. The threads became part of the history of its existence, reminding me of the artist Judy Chicago who used the ‘Arts and Crafts’ as a statement.
I got to know Sue by sitting opposite her, as we chatted and sewed and drank tea together. Other people also came and helped along the way, and all of their energy and presence is weaved into this labyrinth’s story.
It was wonderful sharing this fabric labyrinth with others by taking it out to a retreat and offering a workshop concept. All in the early stages in what still felt like baby step ideas, still learning about how I worked with it myself.
As summer unfurled, and the days widened I retreated back into a place of solitude to sit with ideas, to contemplate and create. I lay the painted labyrinth canvas out on a meadow like area in the garden, a place where it could stay for weeks. It became an early morning ritual of wandering to it with a hot cup of coffee and walking it, prayerlike to the centre where I then sat in prayer and meditation.