gallery
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 cloths, 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 ample 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.
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so it doesn't slip, dotty back
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in the orchard
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a stool in the centre, to sit for a moment
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written on the cloth outside of the labyrinth, misspelt release
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sewing two pieces together, making it big enough to walk without too much restriction
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no perfect stitches, allowing the threads to be seen
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sketch of the five coils
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allowing paint marks to exist, not pristine
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nettles drying in the summer heat
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enjoying sewing together
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in the backgarden being walked daily
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the faint imprint where Dotty lay and was walked daily
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Devon stones and pine cones mark the entrance
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chickens in the orchard
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contemplating
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walking under the apple trees
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embodiment
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the joy of a hen
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Ely inspired hand-painted finger path out with Dotty
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gathering together to meander and rest and chat
My first personal labyrinth
Taking baby steps, Sue (from the field labyrinth) and myself tentatively took the fabric labyrinth out to a retreat and offered a simple workshop.
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 in the garden, in a place where it could stay for weeks. It became an early morning ritual of wandering it with a hot cup of coffee to the centre, where I then sat in prayer and meditation, before the meander back.
