LABYRINTH SPIRIT

Preparing for World Labyrinth day.

2011-05-02T23:30:00.000-07:00

On the World Labyrinth Day, 7th May at 1pm, "Walk as One at 1"
As the earth turns, the participants will walk at 1pm Saturday 7th May 2011 their local time. Continue in your own time at your own time.
I have posted this Art as a reminder of this upcoming wonderful event.

Labyrinth art

2010-10-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

My proposed art instalation "The Centre can Hold" measuring 7M X 7M is constructed from ships rope and anchor. I will be making a documentary about the construction of this installation.

more labyrinth kindred spirits

2010-10-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

Carol Posch Comstock sent me a beautiful invitation to become a member of The Labyrinth Society. She has a wonderful website with superb photos of her art and labyrinths.

The Labyrinth Society

2010-09-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

I found the website for The Labyrinth Society today here. Fantastic information, images and links. Well worth a visit.

Labyrinth and hea;th

2010-09-27T21:55:00.000-07:00

The Sydney Morning Herald story "Labyrinths offer a new path to health" September 16, 2010.

In the article Dr Michael Stevens a paediatric oncologist at The Childrens Hospital, Westmead, Sydney says "Labyrinths are an excelent tool for frightened, anxious and worried people all of whom we have here. A labyrinth in the grounds would be very helpful and would benefit our patients, staff and visiting family and friends."

Helen Malcolm a General Practioner and Seniour Lecturer in Rural General Practice at the University of Melbourne, uses a canvas labyrinth with patients, staff and family. She says
"The scientific evidence is well established that meditation helps physical and mental health, and the labyrinth is a walking form of meditation."

This is how my philosophical point of view as an artist corresponds with medical professionals and scientific research in recognising the importance of the labyrinth.

Labyrinth jewellery

2010-05-03T19:03:00.000-07:00

My latest Labyrinth Jewellery.

On the left, the Hopi Indian square earring,
on the right, the classic Cretan round earring. In the
centre is a 3 path Labyrinth medallion neck piece.
They are all silver leaved on baked SuperSculpy.

Thank you Robert for the inspiration

2009-11-16T01:21:00.000-08:00

Photos of Robert and labyrinth

Robert Armstrong - Olive Grower, whose gold and silver award winning olives and olive oil are Australian icons - inspired me to discover the labyrinth. We built this one (pictured) out of stones from his land amongst the olive groves. Quartz, red stones and granite, everyone a gem. And placed in the most ideal space for a labyrinth.

Labyrinth jewellery

2009-11-15T22:19:00.000-08:00

The labyrinth is one of mankind's oldest artistic creations. Images drawn, carved or scratched by human hand that does not copy something seen in nature. Maybe the first to be inspired by the human imagination!
(from 'The Unending Mystery' by David Willis McGullough.)

Labyrinths and Mazes are the work of humans but spirals are seen in nature alone.

A labyrinth is a spiral broken at four points but still a single continuous path.
A maze is a puzzle of confusing paths with dead ends and high walls. Not so with labyrinths. You can always see where you are going and can keep the center in sight.

According to Frank Waters in 'The Book of the Hopi' tribal elders understood what labyrinth designs - there are two - signified for the origins of their tribe.
The common name for both the square and the round labyrinths is, 'tapu'at' or "Mother and Child".

In Hopi mythology, both the tribes emerge from Mother Earth into the world at the beginning of time. The square labyrinth is more literal, being in fact two separate labyrinths, one within the other, and can be seen as both the child within the womb and a child held - and protected - in a mother's arm. And the straight line, unattached to either labyrinth, denotes the passage out, maybe even the umbilical cord.

The round labyrinth is more cosmic than the square. It symbolizes the Son, Father, "the giver of life". It has turns at four points that change direction but keep you moving forward until reaching the center.

The labyrinth reveals the Creator's universal plan. There seems to be no tradition of walking the labyrinth, but every year at 'Wuwuchim', the first in the annual cycle of ceremonies, the Hopi priests walk around the pueblo 4 times to reclaim the Earth according to the Universal Plan revealed in the labyrinth.

The ear-rings I have made are round and I am now working on the square. Photos will reveal.

Latest work finally fired

2009-09-25T00:53:00.000-07:00

The square labyrinth in red earthenware slip.

The finger labyrinth, a slip cast in white and red earthenware slip.

This is the table load of my work just out of the kiln.

How to make every kind of labyrinth

2008-12-05T13:10:00.000-08:00

Labyrinths for the Spirit
by Jim Buchanan

For myself the most important thing in life is the making of things. In all creativity the doing is what it is all about. It doesn't matter if it's a doodle or a giant project, what will count in one's own spiritual growth and satisfaction and self expression is putting one foot in front of the other and doing it.

This book shows how to create your own labyrinths for meditation and enlightenment, from the smallest drawing on paper, through cardboard models, to monumental architecture and nature gardens, and even gives the map for a labyrinthine city walk by the pretty canals through my home town of Amsterdam.

You can find out more and even buy a copy now, as each book reviewed here is available through clicking on the Amazon widgets on the right hand side of this blog.

Inspiring Creativity

2008-12-05T12:57:00.000-08:00

Exploring the Labyrinth, by Melissa Gayle West.
This book has a preface by Dr. Lauren Artress, the author of Walking a Sacred Path.

The labyrinth is a powerful spiritual symbol that speaks to our souls in a way that transcends all creeds and beliefs. It welcomes the seeker, opening its arms wide to anyone searching for authentic spiritual experience.

The author shows how walking the labyrinth helps people to discover their own paths, their lives as a spiritual journey. Ask for inspiration for a new poem, painting, or project, or plan a festive meal. During walking, the attention is turned inward and the mind is stilled. Find out how, in the labyrinth you can creatively solve problems, dream new dreams, personally, vocationally, and spiritually.

You can find out more and even buy a copy now, as each book reviewed here is available through clicking on the Amazon widgets on the right hand side of this blog.

Unending Mystery

2008-12-05T12:46:00.000-08:00

The Unending Mystery
by David Willis McCullough

This book describes how the labyrinth is one of mankind's oldest artistic creations, the earliest image drawn, carved or scratched by human hand that does not copy something seen in nature. It maybe the first design to be inspired by the human imagination.

This engaging history of labyrinths from ancient to modern times with examples from many cultures, covers the uses of labyrinths from spiritual quest to psychotherapeutic tool.

You can find out more and even buy a copy now, as each book reviewed here is available through clicking on the Amazon widgets on the right hand side of this blog.

The myth

2008-09-29T18:32:00.000-07:00

From the mists of memory about the ancient Minoan culture and their mysterious symbols, came the famous Mycenaean myth about the minotaur of Crete.

The minotaur dwelt in the center of the labyrinth, but confusingly, the labyrinth of the myth is better described as a maze, where there are dead ends and wrong turnings, whereas the ancient symbol from the Palace of Knossos has only one path in and out.

The journey of life

2008-09-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to Psychologist Dan Johnson talking about the labyrinth as a metaphor for the path we take in our life journeys.

Labyrinth movie

Pop Labyrinth

2008-09-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

David Bowie in the magic 'Labyrinth'
In this cute movie starring the eighties rock and roll legend, the creator, Jim Henson, makes the common error of mistaking a maze for the labyrinth.

Labyrinths

2008-09-26T00:29:00.001-07:00

Above is a mold I made for a copy of the first labyrinth I found, in a favourite book - 'The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets' by Barbara G Walker. It is of a labyrinth on a clay tablet found at Mycenaean Pylos, a town of Minoan Crete. It is the so called 'classical' labyrinth.

This next labyrinth is a finger labyrinth I made so you can trace the path with a finger, even with your eyes closed, and follow to the center and then out again. The labyrinth is copied from a coin with the labyrinth symbol on it, struck in the first millenium BCE, and found in Knossos, Crete. Below is the first clay model, still wet, before I made the one-piece plaster mold for absorption method slip casting.

Visit Irene here to see more art.