Monday, July 22, 2019

Traverse City: Spiritual art graces Healing Garden in Historic Barns Park

The containment ring awaits the creation of the labyrinth in the Healing Garden.

Hurray! The concrete ring has been poured for the labyrinth we are creating at The Botanic Garden at Historic Barns Park in Traverse City, Michigan. We have been putting much love into this labyrinth for months now, and we are so excited to begin the project!

The Chartres-inspired (not an exact replica) labyrinth will feature the traditional 11-circuit pattern minus the lunations. The concrete paths will be 18.5 inches wide and the clay lines will be 6.5 inches wide. This labyrinth will be a little over 61 feet in diameter, providing a long, pleasant walk in this beautiful space surrounded by lush greenery. When all of the work is completed, the labyrinth will be the central feature of the Healing Gardens, which will also include a Medicine Wheel and gardens full of healing herbs.

We have already put a lot of work into this project. Marty calculated that 10,000 hand-sculpted pavers would be required to create just the lines of the pattern, so he set to work in April soon after we completed the labyrinth at the Louisiana Children’s Museum. With his powerful EDCO hardscape diamond-blade saw, Marty began to sculpt the most intricate parts of the design, which will feature red, charcoal gray, and taupe pavers. As many of you are aware, Marty hand sculpts each piece with intention and love for all.

Red and charcoal gray pavers comprise the trefoils of the rosette.

The trefoils Marty has carved for the center of this modified Chartres labyrinth are miniature sculptures within the larger design of this custom-crafted installation for The Botanic Garden at Historic Barns Park.

The red spires of the Traverse City State Hospital create a distinctive city skyline.

The committee overseeing the labyrinth project loves the idea of having a red accent on the trefoils of the rosette. This design was inspired by the red tips of the old 1880’s spires on the former Traverse City State Hospital, now known as The Village at Grand Traverse Commons.

By the time we lay the last brick, more than 16,000 pavers will be used to create this beautiful work of spiritual art.

This is the second labyrinth we have created in the beautiful state of Michigan, and both feature the same distinctive color combination of red, charcoal gray, and taupe pavers. We are so grateful to committee of The Botanic Garden Historic Barns Park for choosing Labyrinths in Stone to create this installation. We look forward to blessing Traverse City and our Mother Earth with another beautiful labyrinth!


A natural spring popped up near the entrance of the labyrinth--what a blessing!

NOLA: The power of perseverance

Debi blesses the labyrinth space--and clear skies!

At long last, the first pavers are going into the Essence of Chartres labyrinth at the Louisiana Children’s Museum in New Orleans’ City Park. The skies have finally cleared, and the flood waters have receded. The sun is shining, and we are enjoying the perfect amount of overcast and a nice breeze. Even the clouds have silver linings! Since we arrived in the Big Easy, though, we have been facing unbelievable challenges. Some projects are like that, requiring extra effort and a lot of perseverance to get the job done. Fortunately, grit is our way of life. That's why our clients trust Labyrinths in Stone to do the highest quality work even in the toughest situations and under the most difficult conditions.

Marty carefully measures the placement of the Essence of Chartres labyrinth design features.

For starters, we had trouble maneuvering our long trailer through the tight city streets. We finally made it to our Airbnb and got settled in, but then someone broke into the driver-side window of our truck and ransacked our belongings for valuables. It had rained all night, so the interior was soaked by an inch and a half of rain. We were on complete hold for hours while we waited for the police to show up to file a report, which delayed our arrival at the job site by almost a full day. Time to redouble our resolve!

This Angel Card is a helpful reminder that it's all about Love!

Once we got to the job site, we had logistical problems: no running water to prepare the base and no electricity to run the saw. We also had no easy access to our tools or supplies because we had to park our truck and trailer so far away from the work zone, resulting in time-consuming and exhausting trips back and forth. Then came the usual difficulties caused by working with a multitude of other contractors who needed access to the same real estate and resources at the same time we did. To top it off, our brick delivery truck was hijacked and the driver was mugged! They both arrived safely, thank goodness, but long after our delivery window, setting us back another full day. Time to redouble our resolve! 

Torrential rain created a lagoon out of the containment ring!

Then came the weather. It didn’t just rain—it poured. It rained so much that the ground water actually drained
up through the center of the containment ring, creating little fountains everywhere stakes had been driven! When it wasn’t raining, the wind was blowing, which blew the carefully leveled base sand away before pavers could be laid. We were lucky that the tornadoes that devastated areas just north of NOLA went around us. We sent blessings to those who were affected and expressed gratitude for our protection. The torrential rain turned the work site into a mud pit, though, which sucked off our boots when we slogged through it. The weather conditions were so bad, a yurt had to be constructed to shelter the construction site. Finally, we could get some work done!
 We were so thankful for the great crew who built us such a solid structure and replaced the roof tarp every time it blew off. Come what may, the power of perseverance kept us focused on the beautiful design of the Essence of Chartres labyrinth that would grace the grounds of Louisiana Children's Museum for generations to come.

The yurt protected us from the elements and created some welcome shade during the installation process.

The labyrinth at LCM in City Park is our third project in New Orleans, so we were prepared for construction delays and severe weather. As usual, we called upon our Divine helpers along with our Labyrinth Angels, who kept us safe, harmonized relationships, and mitigated the weather conditions, which could have been much worse than they were. Fortunately, we could call upon our friends around the world to assist us throughout these ordeals. We are so grateful for all of our friends and family members, prayer partners, and Energy Keepers, who have been sending us light and love. We can feel it, and their support has made all the difference. 

Thanks to all of the Labyrinth Angels who are assisting us with this project!

The art of reinstalling a labyrinth: Galveston, Part III


Unloading labyrinth sections at the new location
When our friend Kay Sandor called to request our assistance with uninstalling, moving, and reinstalling one of our hand-crafted labyrinths in Galveston, we were up to the challenge. Development plans threatened to destroy their beloved community labyrinth, and we were determined to help them save it.

We had never moved one of our artworks from one place to another, but with the help of our friend Dave Keller, Labyrinths in Stone began the laborious process of preparing the labyrinth for the move from The William Temple Episcopal Center to its new home at Moody Methodist Church. What a learning process! Section by section, the pavers were meticulously measured, marked, cataloged, loaded on a flatbed trailer, and transported across town. Fortunately, we were able to reuse or recycle most of the brick pavers, reducing the amount of waste that ended up in the landfill and minimizing the use of additional resources to recreate our work of art. As the labyrinth slowly disappeared at one end of Galveston, it slowly reappeared at the other side of the city.


Handwritten messages in the base material
Before the reinstallation took place, Moody Methodist Church members did a great job of clearing the land for the labyrinth and consecrating it as sacred space. Some members wrote messages on rocks that were to be mixed into the base material of the containment ring. Others wrote handwritten notes on paper to be tucked under the pavers of the center's rosette. By the time Labyrinths in Stone delivered the pavers, every aspect of the labyrinth had been thoroughly blessed so that we could get to work reinstalling the labyrinth.


Handwritten messages tucked under the center pavers
One of the ways we like to demonstrate our gratitude for the host organization is by consecrating the pavers of the rosette with special inscriptions from the people who will walk the labyrinth. While Marty and Dave prepared the containment ring, members of the congregation inscribed the bricks with the names of loved ones, Bible verses, quotations, drawings, and special messages to future generations who will walk the labyrinth in years to come. These bricks were the first to be laid as the labyrinth was built from the center outward.


Kay Sandor helps with the sand blessing.
Once all of the pavers were in place, Marty and Dave swept sand into the joints, completing the process of compaction. To thank her for her efforts to save the labyrinth, Kay Sandor was invited to participate in the sacred sanding process. Sanding the labyrinth involves filling all of the seams with bricklayer's sand, a finer grade of sand with smaller particles for such detailed work. Each and every inch of the labyrinth is blessed as sand is sprinkled into the spaces between the pavers with a prayer asking for peace and healing for all of the pilgrims who will walk the path and expressing love and gratitude for all. 

Once complete, compaction locks the pavers permanently into place, ensuring the durability of the labyrinth for generations to come. The surface is then thoroughly swept and cleaned, revealing the labyrinth’s stunning artistry. 

We were grateful to the spiritual leaders of Moody Methodist Church, who paved the way for a smooth reinstallation process by educating the congregants about the labyrinth and its uses, selecting a suitable site, encouraging members to participate in the process, and creating a quiet setting for the labyrinth on the east side of the church property. The labyrinth was consecrated on April 16, 2014, during Holy Week.


The Moody Methodist Church labyrinth 
When Labyrinths in Stone received the call to help save the Galveston labyrinth, we accepted the challenge because of our commitment to our customers and to our work in the world. Labyrinth reinstallation can be a very tricky and time-consuming process, even if we have done the original installation and removal. However, we believe so strongly in the quality of our craftsmanship and the sacredness of each work of art that we have added this important service to our repertoire of specialized skills. We were so grateful to have the opportunity to shepherd this labyrinth through its many changes, loving it along its own path of twists and turns. Thanks to Dave Keller, Kay Sandor, local labyrinth enthusiasts, and the good people at Moody Methodist Church, the labyrinth has a wonderful new home, where it can continue to serve the needs of the Galveston isle community.


Traverse City: The gratitude well

A natural spring popped up near the labyrinth entrance. What a blessing! A natural spring popped up the day we arrived at the site for ...